All State Verbs List in English with Examples!

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stative verbs in english




STATE or STATIVE VERBS are non-progressive verbs which means they are never or hardly ever used in progressive tenses (Present Continuous, Past Continuous, Present Perfect Continuous etc.). To put it simply, donโ€™t use these verbs with -ing ending.

To learn state verbs, it might help if you look at the following categories:

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BE

  • be
  • exist

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  • Iโ€™m being married. (incorrect)
  • Iโ€™m married. (correct)

Read more:
Stative Verbs in the Progressive Form

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POSSESSION

  • have
  • own
  • possess
  • belong
  • lack
  • consist
  • involve
  • include
  • contain

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  • Iโ€™m having a car. (incorrect)
  • I have a car. (correct)
  • Who is it belonging to? (incorrect)
  • Who does it belong to? (correct)

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Read more:
What are possessive nouns, and how do we use possessiveโ€™s

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APPEARANCE, DESCRIPTIONS

  • seem
  • look (=seem)
  • sound
  • appear
  • suit
  • fit

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  • He is seeming upset. (incorrect)
  • He seems upset. (correct)
  • It is sounding nice. (incorrect)
  • It sounds nice. (correct)

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Read more:
Spa Fitness Gym Workout Massage Vocabulary and Dialogs

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MENTAL STATES, IDEAS

  • know
  • believe
  • understand
  • doubt
  • think (have an opinion)
  • suppose
  • recognise
  • forget
  • remember
  • imagine
  • mean
  • agree
  • disagree
  • deny
  • promise

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  • Iโ€™m not knowing him. (incorrect)
  • I know him. (correct)
  • Are you understanding me? (incorrect)
  • Do you understand me? (correct)
  • I wasnโ€™t believing her. (incorrect)
  • I didnโ€™t believe her. (correct)

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Read more:
idea, concept, conception, thought

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EMOTIONS, ATTITUDES

  • love
  • like
  • dislike
  • hate
  • adore
  • prefer
  • care for
  • mind
  • want
  • need
  • desire
  • wish
  • hope
  • appreciate
  • value

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  • My boss is wanting me to go to the meeting. (incorrect)
  • My boss wants me to go to the meeting. (correct)
  • Are you minding if I smoke? (incorrect)
  • Do you mind if I smoke? (correct)
  • Why are you disliking him? (incorrect)
  • Why do you dislike him? (correct)

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Read more:
280 Basic English Words You Should Know

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SENSES

  • see
  • hear
  • feel
  • taste
  • smell

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  • Are you hearing me? (incorrect)
  • Can you hear me? (correct)
  • This soup is tasting delicious. (incorrect)
  • This soup tastes delicious. (correct)

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Read more:
English Grammar: Sentence Structure in English

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PHYSICAL SENSATIONS

  • hurt
  • ache
  • itch

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  • My back is hurting. (incorrect)
  • My back hurts. (correct)
  • My left eye is itching. (incorrect)
  • My left eye itches. (correct)

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Read more:
Order of Adjectives: Explanation + Exercises

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MEASUREMENT

  • measure
  • weigh
  • cost

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  • My dog is weighing 50 kilos. (incorrect)
  • My dog weighs 50 kilos. (correct)
  • How much is it costing?. (incorrect)
  • How much does it cost? (correct)

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Read more:
AT THE DOCTOR Dialogues and Vocabulary List

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Note: Some of the above verbs have both progressive and non-progressive uses. For example:

  • This soup tastes nice. (non-progressive: the soup has its taste)
  • My husband has been tasting wines for an hour. (progressive: he has been actively doing this)
  • This rose smells nice. (non-progressive: the rose has its smell)
  • Sue is smelling the rose. (progressive: sheโ€™s actively doing it)
  • I can see somebody in the window. (non-progressive, state verb)
  • Iโ€™m seeing a guy from the office. (progressive: see=meet)
  • I have a car. (non-progressive, state verb)
  • Iโ€™m having breakfast. (progressive: having=eating)
  • I weigh 60 kilos. (non-progressive, state verb)
  • I was weighing myself when the scales broke. (progressive: I was actively doing it)
  • I think Brad Pitt is handsome. (non-progressive: opinion)
  • Iโ€™ve been thinking about Brad Pitt all day. (progressive: Iโ€™ve been actively doing this)
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Anna
Anna
Guest
2 years ago

โ€œloveโ€ should be excluded from the list of stative verbs as, for example, in the sentence โ€œiโ€™m loving itโ€ it means โ€œto enjoyโ€