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Stative Verb: Definition, Characteristics, Types, & Exercise

While speaking or writing, ever wondered about how you can describe your situation by using a word rather than doing action? Well, if not, using a stative verbs here can present your thoughts clearly. This verb is used to describe the state that is stable or unlikely to change, at this point no action (dynamic verb) is used. Many types of this verb are used differently according to the situation. Read on this blog to explore the definition of stative verb, grammar rules, examples, word list, exercises, and types.

Explore everything about the stative verb in detail | Gradding.com.

Table of Contents

What is a Stative verb?

Stative verb, also known as state verbs, is used to express the state of being or perception of a noun or pronoun that performs as the subject in a sentence. It is not used to describe action as they typically use or connect thoughts, emotions, relationships, senses, possession, opinions, states of being, and measurements like cost and weight. In short, the stative verb meaning is that this verb describes the state or perception rather than any action.

Stative verbs talk about the mental, physical, emotional, or qualitative states. It is vital to retain that stative verb used to express the situations that are improbable to change. Because of this, the state verbs can’t be used with present continuous tenses or present perfect continuous tenses (i.e., verb ending with “-ing”). However, there are some instances in which this verb is used with continuous tenses is which present a specific nuance of meaning or a temporary state. Here are some examples of stative verbs

  1. believe in myself (opinion)
  2. She loves ice cream (emotion)
  3. He owns a large farm (possession). Etc.

There are many definition of stative verb given by the Cambridge and Collins dictionaries that you can go through to understand stative verbs thoroughly. There are many more things to discover about this verb that you are going to explore in the next sections. So, read on.

Grammar Rules for Using Stative Verbs

Stative Verbs tend to be used in simple tenses rather than with continuous tenses, which makes them difficult for learners to understand and employ. As discussed, stative verbs are used to express the state of being rather than action, and this leads to confusion. To take you out of this dilemma, understanding the grammar rule of stative verbs is important. It will dispel all your doubts and guide you to use it correctly. Here are some of the major rules that can assist you in understanding the use of stative verb in everyday sentences inclusively. 

  1. Express the states, not the action
  2. Often connected to the five senses, emotions, and relationships
  3. Can define thoughts, opinions and mental processes
  4. Can indicate measurements (weight) and possessions (have, own)
  5. Not used with progressive tenses (continuous tenses – verb with “-ing” form)
  6. Some stative verbs can be used in continuous tenses when they describe a temporary state or action. 
  7. Stative verbs are mainly used with perfect or simple tenses
  8. Meaning matters a lot, if used wrong, a stative verb can change the sentence's meaning.
  9. Several stative verbs are intransitive, which means in sentences they don’t need a direct object.
  10. Sometimes used as a linking verb to connect the subject to an identification and description.

These 10 grammar rules of stative verbs will put all the things and concerns in one perceptive and clear your doubts. Remembering these rules can help you to understand stative verbs in deep and assist you to use them accurately.

Types of Stative Verbs with Examples

You might be assuming there would be many types of stative verb, but it’s not true. There isn’t any fixed countable number of stative verbs; they are identified according to their categories. Hence, these state verbs types are recognised through senses, state of being rather than any action. Thus, here are the kinds of stative verbs along with their examples.

1. Opinions, Thoughts, And Emotions

Stative verbs are often used to describe thoughts, opinions, emotions, and more. Also, it is not used in continuous tenses. Let’s explore these three in detail.

Thoughts and opinions - mainly used to express the mental processes, views, and beliefs. It is denoted by these words: believe, guess, doubt, imagine, mean, know, recognise, suspect, think, remember, and understand. Have a look at the stative verb examples stated below.

  • "I believe you’ll win this race." (not "I am believing you’ll...")
  • "He doesn't understand the guidelines." (not "He doesn't understand...")
  • "They think Sunny is going to the UK." (not "They are thinking...")

Emotions – used to describe feelings, desires, and emotions. To express this type of stative verb, you can use these words: love, hate, like, prefer, wish, want, dislike, need, etc. Below the examples of emotion stative verbs.

  • "I love hot chocolate in winters." (not "I am loving...")
  • "He hates soups of broccoli, carrots, and tomato." (not "He is hating...")
  • "We prefer tea over coffee." (not "We are preferring...")

2. Senses and perceptions

Another type of state verbs is senses and perception. They are used to present the experience of watching the world with your senses and observe the things that describe the perspective. this stative verb can be easily identified through these words appear, feel, hear, look, see, seem, smell, sound, and taste. Look at these examples

  • "The pasta smells delicious." (not "The pasta is smelling...")
  • "I hear a bizarre sound." (not "I am hearing...")
  • "This cloth material feels so soft." (not "This cloth material is feeling...")

3. Possession

Possession is a state instead of any action and is used to express ownership, any relationship, and something that includes. This stative verb can be specified through own, belong, possess, and have. Let’s check out its examples to understand the clearly.

  • “I have a car”. (not "I am having ...")
  • “He owns a house”. (not "He having his own ...")
  • “This book belongs to me”. (not "This book is belonging ...")
  • “She possesses great wealth” (not "She possesses...")

4. Existence and Measurements

The existence stative verb is to express anything’s presence and measurement used to describe the weight, cost or quantity. These verbs can be identified through be, seem, appear, exist, cost measure, and weigh. Here are some of the stative verb examples: existence, and measurements.

Existences example

  • “I am a student”. (not "I am going to be a student ...")
  • “She appears happy”. (not " She appearing...")
  •  “Does life exist on other planets”? (not " Does life existing...")

Measurement example

  • “The package weighs 5 pounds”. (not "The package weighing ...")
  • “That car costs a lot of money”. (not "The car costing a lot ...")
  • “The room measures 10 by 12 feet”. (not "The room is measuring ...")

These are the major Kinds of stative verb that are mainly used in our daily life conversation to express the state or condition. There are other stative verbs as well that you can check out in the next section.

Categorized List of Stative Verbs by Type

Stative verbs are numerous and can create confusion for learners to comprehend the use of stative verbs in everyday sentences. In every type of this verb, there are several words that can be used to make sentences more sensible. To set your mind at ease, here is the list of stative verbs below according to their different states

Thoughts and opinions

Emotions

Senses

Possession

Being and existence

Measurement

Other

(Dis)agree

Envy

Appear

Belong

Be

Weigh

Be/are/is

Believe

Fear

Feel

Comprise

Seem

Cost

Cost

Doubt

Hate

Hear

Consist

Appear

Measure

Depend on

Forget

Hope

Look

Contain

Exist

 

Involve

Know

(dis)like

See

Has/have

 

 

Measure

Recognize

Love

Seem

Include

 

 

Owe

Remember

Need

Sense

Own

 

 

Resemble

Support

Prefer

Smell

Possess

 

 

Span

Suppose

Value

Sound

Lack

 

 

Weigh

Think (opinion)

Want

Taste

 

 

 

Contains

Understand

Wish

 

 

 

 

Satisfy

Mean

Like

 

 

 

 

Include

Imagine

Love

 

 

 

 

Matter

Suspect

Hate

 

 

 

 

Deserve

Mind

Desire

 

 

 

 

Equal

Prefer

Detest

 

 

 

 

Concerns

Realize

Loathe

 

 

 

 

Promise

Understand

 

 

 

 

 

Require

Value

 

 

 

 

 

Signify

You might be surprised to see the long list of stative verbs, but there are several kinds of these verbs. These words are used in daily life to express the state of being. Without state verbs might be you people can’t express their mental, physical, emotional, or qualitative states. Using them correctly and effectively is necessary, and to make it understandable to learners like you, go through the stative verb examples stated in the next section.

Examples of Stative Verbs in sentences

To understand this verb in detail, examples are the helping hand. It assists you in knowing the approach of using the right state verbs in the sentences according to the condition. Therefore, in this section, we have shared the list of stative verb examples in various categories. So, let’s explore them. 

Stative Verb

Examples

Opinions

· Believe: "I believe in first impression is the last impression."

· Know: "He knows the solution."

· Think: "I think this is strawberry jam."

· Understand: "She doesn't understand the lessons."

· Suppose: "I suppose we must go tomorrow."

Thoughts

· Doubt: "I doubt she'll not come."

· Imagine: "I can imagine a better dish."

· Remember: "I remember that classes clearly."

· Recognize: "I recognize that fabric."

· Mean: "What do you mean by that?"

Emotions:

· Love: "She loves to paint."

· Hate: "He hates being left out."

· Like: "I like Choco chip cookies."

· Desire: "They desire a successful future."

· Appreciate: "I appreciate your help."

Senses:

· See: "I see a sparrow in the tree."

· Hear: "I hear the birds chirping."

· Smell: "The soup smell delightful."

· Taste: "The cake tastes delicious."

· Feel: "I feel hot."

Possession:

· Have: "She has a bike."

· Own: "He owns a house."

· Belong: "This book belongs to him."

Existence

· Artifact: "The antique artifact exists for centuries."

· Belief: "She believes in the probability of celestial life."

· Location: "The old house stands on a hill."

Measurement

· Measurement: "This bench measures two meters in length."

· Weight:  "The bundle weighs five pounds."

· Price: "The fabric costs $10 per yard

· Requirements: "The recipe calls for one cup of flour and a glass of water."

This is the table of the stative verb examples, which includes all the examples associated with the words used in specific categories. To check your knowledge of how much you have learned, let's solve the exercise on stative verbs in the next section.

Worksheet on Stative Verbs

After exploring almost everything about this verb, it's time to assess your knowledge. This will make you a master in using this verb in your daily life. Thus, in this section, we have shared exercise of stative verbs. You have to fill in the blanks with the right answer. So, let’s solve this together.

1. John ________about his future jobs.

2. Ali _______four sisters.

3. It ______like something is burning in the kitchen.

4. The girls ____with their new toys.

5. Sara_____ like she's been crying.

6. I_____ another tea.

7. We_____ a really good vacation.

8. Alice and Peter_____ to go to the mall for shopping.

9. The shop______ usually very busy in weekdays.

10. The baby______ on this crib.

  • Think
  • Have
  • Smell
  • Play
  • Look
  • Want
  • Have
  • Need
  • Be
  • Sleep

Conclusion

In short, stative verbs are verbs used to describe states or conditions instead of expressing action. In this guide, you will explore A to Z about the form rule of stative verbs to solve the exercises. Many learners get confused due to stative uses with the simple tenses rather than with continuous tenses, and create a misperception for them. Thus, to clear their doubts, understanding the rules would be a game-changer. If you need any guidance or exercises on any grammar topic like present tense, verb, noun or pronoun, feel free to reach our consultants at Gradding.com. Our experts are ready to provide all the guidance and exercises you need.

FAQ

1. What is the difference between stative verbs and action verbs?

Answer: Stative verbs describe states of being, condition, opinions, or feelings. On the other side, action verbs describe action or activities. Stative verbs don’t have continuous forms, such as “ing” forms; conversely, action verbs show the ongoing actions that can be used in the continuous tenses.

2. Difference between Stative verbs and linking verbs?

Answer: A stative verb is used to express any state of the subject and not to describe any action. While linking words used to act as a bridge between the subject complements and the subject. Additionally, all the linking words are stative, but not all stative verbs are linking verbs.

3. How do we know if a word is a stative verb?

Answer: A stative verb is used to describe a state or condition that is unlikely to change and stable. This verb doesn’t use any continuous tenses “ing” form in the sentences. It often connects to thoughts, emotions, possessions, or senses.

4. What is the difference between a stative verb and a dynamic verb?

Answer: Stative verbs describe states, emotions, perspective, condition, or situation. On the other hand, dynamic verbs are used to express actions or processes. Moreover, stative verbs generally don’t express actions that are ongoing or can be perceived, whereas dynamic verbs are frequently observed.

5. How to use stative verbs in the present continuous?

Answer: Generally, stative verbs are not used with the present continuous tense because they describe states, conditions, or emotions rather than actions. However, some of the stative verbs can be used with the present continuous when they temporarily describe a behaviour or action, or when it is used for emphasis.

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