Dynamic vs. Stative Verbs Most verbs are dynamic : they describe an action: E.g. to study, to make I ve been studying for hours I m making a delicious cake. Some verbs are stative : they describe a state of being, or a condition: E.g. to know, to love I love you. I ve known you for three years. Stative verbs do not take the -ing form except in certain cases (*) Stative verbs deal with. Emotions, feelings, e.g.: adore dislike appreciate envy care* fear desire hate detest like I adore sushi. We appreciate the work the secretaries do. love mind prefer respect trust* The CEO [Chief Executive Officer] doesn t care if the workers go on strike. want wish* Sense perception, e.g.: appear* feel* hear* look* notice perceive She feels cold. I hear what you are saying. The tutors notice that you have been absent from class. resemble see* seem smell* sound taste* Possession, e.g.: belong contain have* lack The meeting room belongs to the student committee. The company has 12 offices worldwide. own possess Mental processes, e.g.: admire* feel* agree forget believe forgive doubt guess estimate hope* expect* imagine We agree with your idea. He believes we should attempt it. We tend not to doubt what we read in the newspaper. State of being, e.g.: be* concern consist cost* depend deserve equal fit* know matter mean realise recall recognise matter mean measure* need He s a foolish person. The study concerns plans to build a new plant near the city centre. The coat costs 75. regard remember suppose think* understand wonder* owe seem tend weigh*
The ones (*) that go both ways Some stative verbs can be used in the progressive form, but the verb then has a different meaning. involuntary vs. voluntary I smell something cooking. I am smelling the milk to see if it s OK to drink. real vs. imaginary I hear music. You re hearing things there s no music! permanent condition vs. temporary situation I have trouble with my boss. I m having trouble with my boss. different concept implied He appears perfectly calm. Meryl Streep is appearing in a London theatre this week. admire I admire his courage. To approve of I'm admiring the view. I m looking at it with pleasure appear He appears perfectly calm. To seem / look Meryl Streep is appearing in a London theatre this week. To act His new book will be appearing in the spring. To be published (or broadcast) be He is an idiot. natural state of being He is being an idiot. behave temporarily in a certain way care We care about the workers concerns. their concerns are important to us Some of the workers start work late because they are caring for elderly parents. they look after them: they feed them, help them dress, etc. cost The meal costs 8.00. one-time price: statement of fact It s costing us a lot to eat in restaurants every night. It s costing us only 12p a day to eat when we cook for ourselves! The fight against terrorism is costing the government 3b a year. overall general expenditure: emphasis on price expect I expect so. to believe (= I think so.) We were expecting visitors. to believe that someone or something is going to arrive.
feel fit I felt a spider climbing up my leg. aware of the sense of touch He feels he s right about his decision. believes He s feeling / feels tired/angry/cold/ill. physical or mental state He s feeling the fruit to see if it s ripe. touching voluntarily. His clothes did not fit him very well. the piece of clothing is the right size for your body I'm fitting the new lock to the door. to install / to put or fix sth somewhere have She has beautiful eyes. own; possess I have an allergy to cats. I have a headache. I have a broken leg. be unwell, sick, physical condition I m having a lot of headaches these days. I m having problems at work. temporary situation that one is involved in We are having lunch now (eating) EATING / DRINKING: HAVE breakfast / lunch / dinner / a snack / a drink REST / SLEEP: HAVE A rest / sleep / lie-down / nap / day off / holiday / dream WASHING : HAVE A bath / wash / shower / swim / shave / perm / tint / hair cut / massage ENJOY / EXPERIENCE: HAVE A good time / nice day / good laugh / walk / trip / party / chat / talk / (an) argument / try / go / child (baby) / look (at something) / ride (in s.o. s car) / (an) accident / (an) experience / a fun hear I hear guitars playing. I hear you got fired. to receive sound involuntarily; to be told something We re hearing talks of lay-offs from management. We re hearing a lot about global warming these days. to be aware of what others are currently discussing He s hearing angels singing; he should see a doctor. to imagine sounds hope - the progressive adds to the expectation and urgency. Formal English: I hope.. Informal English makes hope dynamic to emphasize it: I am hoping. like I like school enjoy (permanent attitude) I'm liking school a lot beter now. active enjoyment look You look tired. You should go to bed. To have a particular appearance He's looking at a picture. To turn your eyes towards something, so that you can see it love I love holidays enjoy (permanent attitude) I'm loving every minute of this holiday active enjoyment
measure The main bedroom measures 12ft by 15ft. = to have a particular size We were measuring the area from the back of the house to the fence. = find the size see I saw a spider climbing up her leg. To use sight You see I m right about the decision. To understand I'm seeing the doctor in half an hour. To meet We re seeing a decline in sales this year. be aware of what others are doing or what is happening around you You re seeing things: there are no angels on my head! to hallucinate: imagine seeing something that isn t there smell That soup smells delicious / awful. to receive smell involuntarily That soup smells; are you sure it s fresh? to have a bad smell He s smelling the fruit to see if it s ripe. to seek smell voluntarily taste Your cooking always tastes great / awful. Have a flavour / use sense of taste involuntarily I m tasting the wine to see if it s good. try out; taste voluntarily think I think you re great. I think I ll spend tonight studying. belief, intention I m thinking about (of) studying tonight. consider (maybe I will, maybe I won t) / deciding I m thinking about (of) what to have for lunch. actively use the brain / deciding trust We trust management to look after the company s future. this is the normal state of affairs We are trusting management to look after the company s future. we hope they will but there is some uncertainty; this is a one-time event weigh The bag weighed five kilos. To have a particular weight They were weighing my bag. To use a machine to discover how much something or someone weighs wish I wish I had 1m. I wish you d leave me alone. desire for something; dissatisfaction with a situation I m wishing for a new car for my birthday. + for : praying for something to come true or happen
wonder I wonder how James is getting on. to think about something that you are not sure about and try to guess what is true, what will happen etc I was wondering if you'd like to come to dinner to ask someone politely if they would like to do something come * I come from Sweden. to live in / to be born in * I'm coming from Sweden. I m travelling from