What are stative verbs?
A verb is a word used to describe an action.
Well, most of the time. Some verbs are not actions of the body but actions of the mind such as ‘think’ and ‘calculate’.
With these verbs we can use them in the present continuous, so we can say: ‘I am thinking about my lesson’ or ‘I am calculating the answer’.
However there are some verbs which we cannot generally use in the present continuous, such as ‘know’ or ‘understand’.
So for example we don’t say, ‘I am knowing the answer’. We have to say ‘I know the answer’.
These verbs are called stative verbs.
They are used to describe ‘states‘ or emotions or conditions and things like that.
Most verbs are ‘dynamic’ such as ‘eat’, ‘drink’, ‘write’, ‘walk’ that’s over 90% of verbs. We can use them in an ‘…ing’ form i.e. in the present continuous.
Stative verbs however include:
- adore
- agree
- appreciate
- believe
- belong
- consist
- contain
- desire
- disagree
- dislike
- doubt
- equal
- hate
- have
- know
- like
- loathe
- look (seem, appears)
- love
- matter
- mean
- mind
- need
- owe
- own
- suppose
- understand
- want
In general we do not use these verbs in the ‘…ing’ form.
We don’t say, ‘I am agreeing with you’ we say ‘I agree with you’.
We don’t say , ‘one plus one is equalling two’ but we say ‘one plus one equals two’.
In other words we don’t use them in the present continuous.
Some verbs are both stative and dynamic
Some verbs are both stative and dynamic and these include:
‘BE’, ‘HAVE’, ‘THINK’, ‘SEE’
Here are some examples of these words with ‘..ing’ or in the present continuous.
Being: ‘You are being a very difficult student today Tom!’
Having: ‘I am having a great time in this class today!’
Thinking: ‘I am thinking about my homework now.’
Seeing: ‘I am seeing my friends on Satuday’ (present continuous for future meaning)
‘I am seeing a doctor about this problem’ (present continuous, regularly going to the doctor).
‘Understanding’ and other words.
Some words are tricky, because though we might see them with ‘..ing’, they are not dynamic verbs and are still stative.
Understanding:
What if we say, ‘He is a very understanding person’ aren’t we using a ‘stative verb’ with ‘..ing’?
Well in this sentence ‘understanding’ is not a verb, it’s not an action or state, but an adjective (like ‘beautiful, ‘intelligent’.
Knowing:
‘Knowing how hard you work, I am sure you will pass the exam’. In this sentence ‘knowing’ is not a verb, it doesn’t mean that you are ‘knowing’ at the moment, it simply means you have knowledge.
It’s what we call a ‘participle phrase’.
Participle phrases can start with the ‘present participle’ (doing, eating, taking) or ‘past participle’ (done, eaten, taken).
Examples of participle phrases starting with the past participle and a simpler way of saying them are here:
‘Beaten by their opponents, they walked back to the dressing room’ = After they were beaten by their opponents they walked back in to their dressing rooms.
‘Abandoned by his friends, Peter moved to another city and eventually became very rich’ = After he was abandoned by his friends, Peter moved to another city and eventually became very rich’.
Examples of participle phrases starting with the present participle and a simpler way of saying them are here:
Walking to the park, he noticed a group of men selling ice cream in the street. = While he was walking to the park, he noticed a group of men selling ice cream in the street.
Studying in the library, he suddenly noticed his teacher was there with his best friend. = While he was studying in the library, he suddenly noticed his teacher was there with his best friend.
Being a qualified doctor, I can tell that you are sick and need medicine urgently. = Because I am a qualified doctor, I can tell that you are sick and need medicine urgently.
Knowing your medical history I have to encourage you to exercise more = Because I know/I have knowledge of your medical history I have to encourage you to exercise more
So from the examples above we can say why ‘knowing’ is not really a dynamic verb here.
However you cannot say:
- I was knowing.
- I had been knowing.
- I have been knowing.
- I will have been knowing.
Because it’s a stative verb, but dyanmic verbs such as ‘write’, you can say:
- I was writing an email when you phoned.
- I had been writing lots of emails before you phoned.
- I have been writing books since I left university.
- I will have been writing novels for 20 years by this September.
