What are Stative Verbs?
How do these verbs work?
Stative verbs are verbs that express or describe a state rather than an action.
These verbs usually relate to thoughts, relationships,Condition,possession, perception ,feelings and senses.
Note: Stative verbs are not usually used with "ing" in progressive (continuous) tenses . We use the simple tenses for them.
These verbs show:
what something is
How someone feels
or what someone thinks or owns,
For Example:
She knows the answer. ( Correct)
She is knowing the answer. ( In correct)
She is wanting a pen. ( Incorrect)
She wants a pen. ( Correct)
They are understanding . ( Incorrect)
They understand it. ( Correct)
Remember!
These verbs describe states, not actions
Common Types of Stative Verbs
1. Verbs of Thought / Mental State
Verb. Example Sentence
know I know the truth.
believe. She believes in hard work.
understand. He understands the lesson.
remember. I remember your advice.
forget. He forgets names easily.
2. Verbs of Emotion / Feeling
Verb. Example Sentence
love. They love their country.
hate. He hates dishonesty.
like. I like classical music.
prefer. She prefers tea to coffee.
fear. The child fears darkness.
When we use ( she is deserving) here the word deserving is an adjective not action verb .
3. Verbs of Possession
Verb. Example Sentence
have. She has two brothers.
own. He owns a small shop.
belong. This book belongs to me.
possess. The king possesses great
Wealth.
4. Verbs of Sense Perception
Verb. Example Sentence
see. I see a bird on the tree.
hear. We hear strange noises at night.
smell. The food smells delicious.
taste. This soup tastes spicy.
feel (opinion)
I feel this answer is correct.
5. Verbs of Being / State
Verb. Example Sentence
be. He is honest.
seem. He seems tired today.
exist. Life exists on Earth.
Important Note
Some verbs can be both stative and action verbs, depending on meaning and concept
Stative: I think this is right. (opinion)
Action: I am thinking about the problem. (mental activity)
Stative. She thinks .
Action. I am thinking of a plan
The list of Stative verbs
1. adore
2. agree
3. appear (seem)
4. believe
5. belong to
6. concern
7. contain
8. deny
9. depend on
10. deserve
11. detest
12. disagree
13. dislike
14. imagine
15. know
16. Like
17. mean
18. need
19. owe
20. own
21. promise
22. realize
23. recognize
24. remember
25. resemble
26. smell
27. sound
28. suppose
29. taste
30. think (opinion)
31. understand
32. want
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