What are stative verbs?

What are stative verbs?

Stative verbs are the verbs that describe the state, and they generally don’t have continuous forms. They usually don’t describe the action.

These are:

SENSES:

taste

see

hear

fell

smell

THINKING:

consider

think

agree

believe

doubt

expect

feel (meaning: think)

EMOTIONS AND FEELINGS:

mind

love

feel

hate

forgive

loathe

like

dislike

wish

OTHER:

owe

possess

matter

appear/seem

keep (meaning: continue)

have (meaning: possess)

be

belong

Some of these verbs will sometimes have a continuous form:

I’m seeing my sister today. (when you are going to meet someone)

BUT: Did you see my keys? (referring to senses)

To think, to consider, to expect to have continuous forms when they refer to an action.  

EXAMPLES:

Stop that noise, please. I’m thinking.

Compare to:

I think these colours don’t match you. 

Have a bath/a good time/fun/a nap can take continuous forms.

Examples:

I cannot take this call; I am having a bath at the moment.

My baby is finally having her nap. 

These two sentences describe an ongoing action; that’s why we can use the continuous form.

I hope that now you will remember what the stative verbs are and how you can use them. Good luck!