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
Hello Rsb,
You are confusing transitive/intransitive, which refers to whether or not a verb has an object, with dynamic/stative, which deals with whether a verb describes an action or a state.
Ergative (or labile) verbs can be transitive or intransitive. Separate is an ergative verb.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello again Rsb,
A stative verb describes a state of being which is constant and does not change through its duration.
An action or dynamic verb describes an action or a process which changes over time.
These definitions are related to meaning but are useful because they have grammatical implications, such as state verbs not being used with continuous aspect.
This is not the same as transitive (has an object) and intranstive (no object). Both stative and dynamic verbs can be transitive or intransitive.
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Rsb,
In this context separate is intransitive but dynamic. You could use a continuous form, for example, which would not be possible with a stative verb:
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Rsb,
I think you're a little confused about what a dynamic verb is. It doesn't have to be a physical action. A mental act can be expressed by a dynamic verb if it is an action which has duration and is not static in nature:
You can read more about these verbs and see definitions on these pages:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dynamic_verb
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stative_verb
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team