Stative verbs
Look at these examples to see how stative verbs are used.
I think that's a good idea.
I love this song!
That coffee smells good.
Do you have a pen?
Try this exercise to test your grammar.
- Grammar test 1
Read the explanation to learn more.
Grammar explanation
Stative verbs describe a state rather than an action. They aren't usually used in the present continuous form.
I don't know the answer.
I'm not knowing the answer.
She really likes you.She's really liking you.
He seems happy at the moment.He's seeming happy at the moment.
Stative verbs often relate to:
- thoughts and opinions: agree, believe, doubt, guess, imagine, know, mean, recognise, remember, suspect, think, understand
- feelings and emotions: dislike, hate, like, love, prefer, want, wish
- senses and perceptions: appear, be, feel, hear, look, see, seem, smell, taste
- possession and measurement: belong, have, measure, own, possess, weigh.
Verbs that are sometimes stative
A number of verbs can refer to states or actions, depending on the context.
I think it's a good idea.
Wait a moment! I'm thinking.
The first sentence expresses an opinion. It is a mental state, so we use present simple. In the second example the speaker is actively processing thoughts about something. It is an action in progress, so we use present continuous.
Some other examples are:
have
I have an old car. (state – possession)
I'm having a quick break. (action – having a break is an activity)
see
Do you see any problems with that? (state – opinion)
We're seeing Tadanari tomorrow afternoon. (action – we're meeting him)
be
He's so interesting! (state – his permanent quality)
He's being very unhelpful. (action – he is temporarily behaving this way)
taste
This coffee tastes delicious. (state – our perception of the coffee)
Look! The chef is tasting the soup. (action – tasting the soup is an activity)
Other verbs like this include: agree, appear, doubt, feel, guess, hear, imagine, look, measure, remember, smell, weigh, wish.
Do this exercise to test your grammar again.
- Grammar test 2
𝕊𝕥𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕓𝕤
𝙉𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙨:
stative # action
action = dynamic
𝟏-𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐬
--> These are verbs that show physical or mental actions / activities:
a-𝘗𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴: go - wake up - sleep / eat / give / run / walk....
b-𝘔𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴: think / guess / imagine / consider / decide...
That means: "Is this something someone can do."
𝙍𝙪𝙡𝙚: We can use present continuous only withe the dynamic verbs:
Examples:
- The cat 𝙞𝙨 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 after the mouse.
-We '𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 on a new solution.
𝟮-𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗯𝘀
-->Thoughts and options, feeling and emotion, senses and perceptions, possession (not a physical action).
Examples: know / mean / believe / doubt / like / dislike / love / prefer / want / hate / be / feel / appear / look / hear / see / have / belong / possess / understand / taste / own ...
⇒In summary: These verbs are classified into 𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙡, 𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙤𝙧𝙮, and 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚 categories.
Examples:
a- Do you 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 this strange man with a black coat?
b-At dinnertime, Peter is asking his mother: "I really 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 the boiled salted potatoes. Can I have some more, please?"
c- I completely 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲 everything you're saying, and I'll do my best to help you.
𝙉𝙤𝙩𝙚: We can't use the 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗼𝘂𝘀 with 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗯𝘀 unless they refer to a process or temporary 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 (like thinking or feeling).
3-𝙑𝙚𝙧𝙗𝙨 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝘾𝙖𝙣 𝘽𝙚 𝘽𝙤𝙩𝙝 𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝘼𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣:
think / feel / see / have / hear / appear / taste / smell / look / star / stop / change / run / move / burn / open...
a- I'𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 about this matter. (reflect)
b-Please wait for me a bit. I’𝗺 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 for which answer is correct.
--> "look” is typically 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 a dynamic verb because it 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲𝘀 a mental process that happens over time.
c-The professor adopts easy methods, and I'𝐦 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 more interested.
-->"becoming" to describe a gradual change (an action) in your level of interest.
𝐃𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞: 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥.
𝘋𝘳. 𝘚𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘩: 𝚃𝚛𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚛𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛... 𝙸 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝚢𝚘𝚞'𝚕𝚕 𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚒𝚝.
Patient: “𝗜'𝗺 𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 his face, his nose… a big head.”
𝘋𝘳. 𝘚𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘩: 𝙳𝚘𝚗’𝚝 𝚙𝚒𝚌𝚝𝚞𝚛𝚎 𝚒𝚝, 𝚝𝚛𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚎𝚎 𝚒𝚝! That’ll be easier.
𝘗𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵: 𝙸𝚝’𝚜 𝚍𝚒𝚏𝚏𝚒𝚌𝚞𝚕𝚝, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝗜'𝗺 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝚊 𝚏𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝚋𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚌𝚊𝚛...
𝘔𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳: 𝙷𝚘𝚠’𝚜 𝚑𝚎, 𝚍𝚘𝚌𝚝𝚘𝚛?
𝘋𝘳. 𝘚𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘩: 𝙳𝚘𝚗’𝚝 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚢, 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝚋𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛. 𝙸𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚊𝚢, 𝚑𝚎’𝚜 𝚝𝚛𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚛𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜.
𝕊𝕥𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕧𝕖 𝕧𝕖𝕣𝕓𝕤
𝙉𝙤𝙩𝙚𝙨:
stative # action
action = dynamic
𝟏-𝐀𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐛𝐬
--> These are verbs that show physical or mental actions / activities: a-𝘗𝘩𝘺𝘴𝘪𝘤𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴: go - wake up - sleep / eat / give / run / walk....
b-𝘔𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘭 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴: think / guess / imagine / consider / decide...
That means: "Is this something someone can do."
𝙍𝙪𝙡𝙚: We can use present continuous only withe the dynamic verbs:
Examples:
- The cat 𝙞𝙨 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 after the mouse.
-We '𝗿𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗰𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 on a new solution.
𝟮-𝗦𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗯𝘀
--> thoughts and options, feeling and emotion, senses and perceptions, possession (not a physical action).
Examples: know / mean / believe / doubt / like / dislike / love / prefer / want / hate / be / feel / appear / look / hear / see / have / belong / possess / understand / taste / own ...
⇒In summary: These verbs are classified into 𝙢𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙖𝙡, 𝙨𝙚𝙣𝙨𝙤𝙧𝙮, and 𝙥𝙤𝙨𝙨𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙫𝙚 categories.
Examples:
a- Do you 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄 this strange man with a black coat?
b-At dinnertime, Peter is asking his mother: "I really 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲 the boiled salted potatoes. Can I have some more, please?"
c- I completely 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲 everything you're saying, and I'll do my best to help you.
𝙉𝙤𝙩𝙚: We can't use the 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘁𝗶𝗻𝘂𝗼𝘂𝘀 with 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗯𝘀 unless they refer to a process or temporary 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 (like thinking or feeling).
3-𝙑𝙚𝙧𝙗𝙨 𝙏𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝘾𝙖𝙣 𝘽𝙚 𝘽𝙤𝙩𝙝 𝙎𝙩𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙫𝙚 𝙖𝙣𝙙 𝘼𝙘𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣:
think / feel / see / have / hear / appear / taste / smell / look / star / stop / change / run / move / burn / open...
a- I'𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 about this matter. (reflect)
b-Please wait for me a bit. I’𝗺 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 for which answer is correct.
--> "look” is typically 𝗰𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗲𝗱 a dynamic verb because it 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗰𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗲𝘀 a mental process that happens over time.
c-The professor adopts easy methods, and I'𝐦 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 more interested.
-->"becoming" to describe a gradual change (an action) in my level of interest.
𝐃𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞: 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥.
𝘋𝘳. 𝘚𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘩: 𝚃𝚛𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚛𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛... 𝙸 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝚢𝚘𝚞'𝚕𝚕 𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚒𝚝.
Patient: “𝗜'𝗺 𝗽𝗶𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 his face, his nose… a big head.”
𝘋𝘳. 𝘚𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘩: 𝚃𝚛𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚎𝚎, 𝚗𝚘𝚝 picture! That’ll be easier.
𝘗𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵: 𝙸𝚝’𝚜 𝚍𝚒𝚏𝚏𝚒𝚌𝚞𝚕𝚝, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝗜'𝗺 𝘀𝗲𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝚊 𝚏𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝚋𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚌𝚊𝚛...
𝘔𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳: 𝙷𝚘𝚠’𝚜 𝚑𝚎, 𝚍𝚘𝚌𝚝𝚘𝚛?
𝘋𝘳. 𝘚𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘩: 𝙳𝚘𝚗’𝚝 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚢, 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝗶𝘀 𝗳𝗲𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝚋𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛. 𝙸𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚊𝚢, 𝚑𝚎’𝚜 𝚝𝚛𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚛𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜.
𝐃𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐮𝐞: 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐨𝐬𝐩𝐢𝐭𝐚𝐥.
𝘋𝘳. 𝘚𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘩: 𝚃𝚛𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚛𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛... 𝙸 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚔 𝚢𝚘𝚞'𝚕𝚕 𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝚒𝚝.
𝘗𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵: 𝙄'𝙢 𝙞𝙢𝙖𝙜𝙞𝙣𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚏𝚊𝚌𝚎, 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚗𝚘𝚜𝚎... 𝚊 𝚋𝚒𝚐 𝚑𝚎𝚊𝚍.
𝘋𝘳. 𝘚𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘩: 𝚃𝚛𝚢 𝚝𝚘 𝚜𝚎𝚎, 𝚗𝚘𝚝 𝚒𝚖𝚊𝚐𝚒𝚗𝚎!
𝘗𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵: 𝙸𝚝’𝚜 𝚍𝚒𝚏𝚏𝚒𝚌𝚞𝚕𝚝, 𝚋𝚞𝚝 𝙄’𝙢 𝙨𝙚𝙚𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝚊 𝚏𝚊𝚜𝚝 𝚋𝚕𝚊𝚌𝚔 𝚌𝚊𝚛...
𝘔𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳: 𝙷𝚘𝚠’𝚜 𝚑𝚎, 𝚍𝚘𝚌𝚝𝚘𝚛?
𝘋𝘳. 𝘚𝘮𝘪𝘵𝘩: 𝙳𝚘𝚗’𝚝 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚢, 𝚢𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚜𝚘𝚗 𝙞𝙨 𝙛𝙚𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝚋𝚎𝚝𝚝𝚎𝚛. 𝙸𝚗 𝚊𝚗𝚘𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚊𝚢, 𝚑𝚎’𝚜 𝚝𝚛𝚢𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚘 𝚛𝚎𝚖𝚎𝚖𝚋𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚙𝚙𝚎𝚗𝚎𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚛𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚏𝚎𝚎𝚕𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜.
Did you guys mean "peeling"? for sixth question of grammar test two?
Hello englishlearner98,
'Feeling' is correct here. It means picking up the fruit and using your hand to determine if it is hard or soft, which is a sign of ripeness. 'Peeling' makes sense too, but if you peel it you really have to eat it immediately as it won't ripen any more and will go off quite quickly!
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
I would like to ask about the verb "rely", what kind of verb is it? Thanks a lot!
Hello nanalee2024,
Rely does not describe an action but rather a state and so is a stative verb. As such, it is only used with continuous aspect when it is a temporary situation.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Teama
I would like to ask about "depend", is this verb a dynamic verb or stative verb or both? Could you please help to clarify in these sentences in detail? Many thanks!
A. Don't let me down: I ____________________ (depend) on you.
B. Love? It ____________________ (depend) what you mean by “love”.
Hello nanalee2024,
Depend is a stative verb and is only used with continuous aspect when the speaker wants to emphasise that the situation is temporary.
In your examples the first sentence is a temporary situation so am depending is the correct option. In the second depends is correct.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hi,
Wondering if it is sometimes possible to use the verb "want" as an action verb, e.g.: "She's been wanting that dress for ages" or "She's been wanting to be a doctor since she was 7 years old." The first one sounds fine for me but the second one sounds clunky. Are either/both possible?
Thanks!
gwen_m