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
Greetings!
Can I use "would" with a stative verb if I'm using an adverb that changes 'permanent state' and makes it temporary/not permanent?
E.g:
I would sometimes feel lonely.
I would often see her near my house. etc...
I saw these examples in one tutorial and want to hear a clear definition of this matter. Thanks!
Hello Sally,
All of the grammar references I checked indicated that we use 'used to' (and not 'would') to speak about past states and/or regular habitual behaviour. As far as I can tell, this means these sentences are non-standard.
That said, although your sentences sound a little unusual, they don't sound completely incorrect to me. But I'm afraid I can't find any reference material that would support this, so, depending on where you want to use these sentences, it might be best to rephrase them.
I hope this helps you.
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Have a bath , have fun, have a good time, have a drink are all activities that can be used in the continuous form. State verb have: have a car, have blue eyes, have a job, Cannot be used in the continuous form. So why can’t ‘have an exam’ be used in the continuous form? It’s an activity….Please can you explain?
Hello CJ21,
We use 'take an exam' to talk about the activity (e.g. 'Tomorrow I can't meet with you because I'll be taking an exam' or 'No, I'm afraid Sue can't speak with you now because she's taking an exam').
We say 'have an exam' to talk about the exam as an obligation or something in our schedule (e.g. 'Tomorrow morning we have the maths exam' or 'Medical students have a lot of exams').
Does that make sense?
All the best,
Kirk
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Kirk! Yes, it does thank you very much 👌
Hi Amit01,
It's a good question. People do sometimes say or write thinking to ... with the meaning of 'considering doing something'. Here are some examples I found:
However, it seems less commonly used than thinking of, and most dictionaries don't include it (yet). So, I would say that it's fine to use in informal situations, but probably not in formal situations, where standard or 'correct' language forms are preferred (such as in an exam, or a presentation).
I hope that helps!
Jonathan
The LearnEnglish Team
Hello Mussorie,
The second sentence describes a day which is in progress - in other words, today.
The first sentence could be a more general statement, but it requires some kind of comment as to which days are generallt great. For example:
Peter
The LearnEnglish Team