Some English verbs (the stative verbs) aren’t used in the continuous tenses (such as the present continuous, the past continuous or the future continuous ). They usually express a state, feeling or condition, not an action. Here is a list of the most common ones:
Stative Verb List
·
Agree /
Appear /
Astonish
·
Be / Believe / Belong
·
Consist / Contain
·
Deny / Depend / Deserve / Disagree / Dislike / Doubt
Fit / Fancy
Fit / Fancy
·
Hate /
Have
(possess) / Hear
·
Imagine / Impress /
Involve
·
Know
·
Lack / Like / Look
(seem) / Love
·
Matter / Mean / Measure / Mind
·
Need
·
Owe / Own
·
Please / Possess / Prefer / Promise
·
Realise/ Recognise / Remember
·
Satisfy / See / Seem / Smell / Sound / Suppose / Surprise
·
Taste / Think (have an opinion)
·
Understand
·
Want / Weigh / Wish
Be is normally a stative verb, but when it is used in the continuous it
means ‘behaving’ or ‘acting’ (in some way or other) :
a)
you are crazy = that’s your
personality STATIVE
b) you are being crazy = at the moment you
are behaving in a crazy way DYNAMIC
Have when refers to possession is
stative.
a)
He
has two dogs. STATIVE
But when it is part of an
expression, it can be used as a dynamic
verb:
b)
She is having
breakfast / a good time / a party
/ a shower … DYNAMIC
Look: Your new garden looks wonderful
(has a certain appearance) STATIVE
I’m just looking (see) DYNAMIC
Measure: It measures 5 m (actual length). STATIVE
At the moment,
the engineers are measuring the
area (They are working on it). DYNAMIC
Think: I think it will rain tomorrow
(opinion) STATIVE
I’m thinking about the
exam (action in progress in the mind) DYNAMIC
See: I see your point now. (view / understand) STATIVE
I’m seeing my old friends
tomorrow (meet) DYNAMIC
Taste: It tastes wonderful. (It has a certain taste) STATIVE
She is tasting the coffee
(she is performing the action of tasting something) DYNAMIC
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