The Grammaring Guide to English Grammar with Exercises

State verbs and action verbs

State verbs

State verbs express states or conditions which are relatively static. They include verbs of perception, cognition, the senses, emotion and state of being.

Examples of state verbs:

appear, believe, belong, consider, consist, contain, cost, doubt, exist, fit, hate, hear, have, know, like, love, matter, mean, need, owe, own, prefer, remember, resemble, seem, suppose, suspect, understand, want, wish

State verbs are not normally used in continuous forms:

*I

am needing

a new phone. / I

need

a new phone.

*Who

is

this bag

belonging

to? / Who

does

this bag

belong

to?

*They

are seeming

tired. / They

seem

tired.

Action verbs

Action verbs (also called dynamic verbs) express activities, processes, momentary actions or physical conditions.

Examples of action verbs:

ache, arrive, ask, call, change, cook, dance, eat, fall, feel, go, grow, have, help, hit, hurt, itch, kick, knock, leave, melt, read, say, shrink, sing, speak, talk, throw, travel, watch

Action verbs may be used in continuous forms:

Who

was

he

dancing

with?

Someone

's knocking

at the door.

I

've been reading

this book for weeks.

State verbs in the continuous form

Some state verbs may be used in the continuous form if they refer to a temporary action or an action in progress at a certain moment, rather than a permanent attitude:

I

'm having

second thoughts about moving abroad.

Jones

is appearing

in

Hamlet

this evening.

You'

re looking

great in those jeans.

There are also state verbs which may be used in the continuous form, but with a different, active meaning:

Do

you

have

a car?

(own)

They

are having

dinner at the moment.

(eating)

You

are

my best friend.

(it's a fact)

She

's being

silly again.

(behaving in a silly way)

That soup

smells

good.

(has a good smell)

He

is smelling

the soup.

(sniffing at)

This milk

tastes

sour.

(has a sour taste)

I

was

just

tasting

the food.

(testing)

You

look

great!

(your current appearance)

He

was looking

out the window when I saw him.

(directing his eyes towards)

What

do

you

see

?

(notice with eyes)

I

'm seeing

my dentist this afternoon.

(visiting)

I

don't hear

well.

(pick up with ears)

The judge

will be hearing

the evidence later this week.

(listening to)

I

expect

that you are tired.

(assume)

Are

you

expecting

visitors this evening?

(waiting for them to arrive)

I

feel

that you are wrong.

(think)

How

have

you

been feeling

?

(asking about physical state)

This melon

weighs

2 kg.

(its weight is 2 kg)

He

is weighing

the melon.

(measuring its weight)

Naturally, we can use the verbs with the active meaning in the simple form, too:

How often

do

you

see

your dentist?

They usually

have

dinner at 6.

But we cannot use the verbs with the stative meaning in the continuous form:

*This melon

is weighing

2 kilos.

*The soup

was smelling

good.

Quotes:

I don't know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody. - Bill Cosby

If you don't know where you're going, you might never get there. - Yogi Berra

Related topics:

Modals to express habits: WILL, WOULD, USED TO

Verbs which cannot be used in the passive voice

The passive with GET