Stative Verbs

Form

Stative verbs name a state, not an action, so they normally stay in the simple tenses and skip the continuous.

The main groups are thinking (know, believe, understand, remember), feeling (love, hate, want, prefer), the senses (see, hear, smell, taste), possession (have, own, belong) and being or measuring (be, seem, appear, contain, weigh, cost). A few of these verbs have a second, active meaning, and in that meaning the continuous is normal (she is seeing a client, the chef is tasting the soup, we are having lunch). Negatives and questions use the ordinary simple forms (I don't understand this; Does this bag belong to you?).

When to Use It

1. 1

   Use the simple form for what someone thinks or knows, with no continuous even when it is true right now

   She knows the answer.

2. 2

   Use the simple form for what someone likes or wants, because a preference is a state and not an activity

   I prefer tea to coffee.

3. 3

   Use the simple form for possession and belonging, however temporary the arrangement feels

   This bag belongs to my sister.

4. 4

   Use the simple form for a fixed quality or an impression — weigh, cost, contain and seem all stay simple

   The box weighs ten kilograms.

5. 5

   Switch to the continuous when the verb names a deliberate action, not a state

   The chef is tasting the soup.

6. 6

   Use is being for how someone is behaving right now, which is temporary rather than part of their character

   He is being unhelpful today.

Common Mistakes

• Continuous with a state verb: write I don't understand, not I am not understanding — understand names a state, so it has no continuous form.
• Have for possession: write I have two brothers, not I am having two brothers — have is only continuous when it means an activity, as in “We are having lunch.”
• Think for an opinion: write I think this is a good idea, not I am thinking this is a good idea — the continuous fits only the active process, as in “I am thinking about your offer.”
• The senses in the continuous: write I can hear a noise or I hear a noise, not I am hearing a noise — see, hear, smell and taste take the simple form for perception.
• Want and need in the continuous: write She needs help, not She is needing help — need, want and prefer are states, so they stay simple.