Stative Verbs & Continuous Tenses

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Well hey there! I'm Emma from mmmEnglish

and I'm so excited to be bringing you this lesson today.

It's a grammar point that is so

often overlooked by English teachers but one that's gonna reveal

some little known secrets about English verbs.

And these secrets are gonna dramatically improve

your English accuracy,

particularly when it comes to continuous tenses.

We're talking about stative verbs and usually

stative verbs can't be used in continuous tenses

though this is a common mistake for a lot of my students.

Now you might be thinking

stative verbs, surely they're not that common?

Surely there's just a few of them that I've got to worry about.

Well, have I got news for you.

Some of the most common English verbs are stative verbs

You use them every time that you speak in English.

So this lesson is really important,

I want you to watch it all the way through and save it.

So what on earth is a stative verb anyway?

Stative verbs are also called state verbs.

They express a state, rather than an action.

And they're often related to things like

our thoughts and our opinions, our senses

our feelings and emotions, possession

and then a bunch of other verbs that aren't really actions.

But don't worry, we'll take a closer look at all of those

different types of verbs in a minute.

The most important thing that you need to know

is that many of them are used only in the simple tenses.

So that's the present simple, past simple,

present perfect simple, past perfect simple

and the future simple.

So that means you can't use stative verbs in which tenses?

The present continuous, the past continuous,

the present perfect continuous, the past perfect continuous

and the future continuous.

Now unlike many things in English grammar,

this rule is a simple rule to remember.

Stative verbs can only be used in simple tenses.

Now there are some exceptions,

there's always exceptions in English, right?

But I will talk about those in much more detail later in this lesson.

These are all examples of a stative verb.

Now I said that stative verbs describe a state,

but what does that really mean?

The verb hear requires no action from its subject.

Did you hear the sound?

When the alarm goes off, you're gonna hear it

whether you choose to hear it or not, right?

Hearing is one of the five senses,

it's not an action that we can choose to do.

Hear is a state verb.

But the verb listen is an action verb.

Are you listening to me?

We get to choose whether or not we listen

to someone or something, right?

If you don't wanna listen to the radio,

it's up to you, you can turn it off.

The same rule applies with the verbs see, watch and look.

See is a sense.

Watch and look are actions.

So far so good?

Where things can get a little tricky is that some verbs

have both an active and a stative meaning.

The verb measure is a good example.

The table measures sixty centimetres by sixty centimetres.

So here, measure is describing the quality of the table,

it describes a fact.

So in this context, measure is a state.

I'm measuring the window to fit the curtains.

Here, measure is an action.

So I'm carrying out the action of measuring for the curtains.

There are more verbs that fit into the category

and I'll share a few more of them with you

as we go through this lesson.

But now that we've got those basics down,

let's get stuck into learning about stative verbs in context.

We can break stative verbs down into about five categories.

The first one is verbs of thought and opinion.

The best way to recognise and remember new words

is to learn them in context.

Now there are two stative verbs in that sentence,

can you see them?

Recognise and remember.

So they're both verbs of thought and opinion,

so they're both stative verbs.

It's incorrect to say:

I'm recognising the man across the street.

I am not remembering your name.

Stative verbs need simple tenses. We just say:

I recognise that man.

I don't remember your name.

Let's try another one.

I agree, it can be hard to understand the difference between

English tenses. You have to know the rules inside out.

So which is the stative verb there? Do you know?

She agrees with me.

Not she is agreeing with me.

We understand you.

Not we are understanding you.

Not you are knowing him.

There are lots more verbs that fit into the category

of thought and opinion.

Believe. Concern.

Disagree. Doubt.

Forget. Imagine.

Realise. Suppose.

These are all stative verbs.

Not a complete list but they're just some of the most

common verbs of thought and opinion.

The second group of stative verbs are verbs of the senses.

Now we have five senses. Do you know what they are?

See with your eyes.

Hear with your ears.

Touch with your fingers.

Taste with your mouth.

And smell with your nose.

Verbs of the senses are stative verbs so we don't usually

use them in the continuous tenses.

Notice that I said usually,

we don't usually use them in the continuous tenses.

Now verbs of the senses are a little bit special

and that's because we can also use them to talk about the act of

tasting, smelling or feeling.

I'm tasting the cake to make sure it's OK.

We can also say:

This cake tastes delicious.

One is an action,

can you guess which one?

I'm actively tasting the cake.

I'm checking to make sure that it's yummy.

This one is a state.

It relates to perception.

My perception of the cake is that it's delicious.

So I'm not describing an action here.

In that context, it's incorrect to say:

The cake is tasting delicious.

We just say: The cake tastes delicious.

Another thing to be aware of is that the verb see

has a few different meanings.

So we can say: I saw Ruby at the supermarket.

In that sentence see is a verb of the sense so it's stative.

But look at these examples.

I'm seeing Ruby tomorrow.

He is seeing someone new.

So seeing means meeting. I'm meeting Ruby tomorrow.

And it also means being in a relationship.

He's in a relationship with someone new.

So in these sentences, the verb see is describing an action.

And in that context,

it's perfectly okay to use a continuous tense.

The third group is verbs of feeling and emotion.

I need to find out what Gloria likes doing in her free time.

Now there were two verbs of feelings or emotion in that sentence.

Can you guess which ones they are?

You can absolutely use these verbs in the simple tenses

but it's incorrect to use them in the continuous form.

I was needing some information.

What is Gloria liking?

there are lots of other verbs that fit into this category.

Verbs like: Love

Dislike. Adore.

These are all verbs of feeling and emotion and you should avoid

using them in continuous tenses.

The fourth group is verbs of possession. They're verbs like

The bicycle belongs to my brother.

But not: The bicycle is belonging to my brother.

She owns a red Ferrari.

She has been owning a red Ferrari for a long time.

Now the verb have also falls into this category but only

when it means to own or possess something.

Now have is a bit of an exception so I'm going to go into more

detail about it later on in the lesson.

The last group of stative verbs is

well it's just everything else.

And by that I just mean any other verbs that aren't actions.

So these verbs don't describe an action.

I promise not to be late.

Is promise an action?

When I make a promise, I don't actually do anything do I?

I just say the words.

But there's no physical action there, is there?

It's just a stative verb.

So I can't say:

I am promising not to be late.

That's incorrect. We just use the present simple here.

How about: I owe you ten dollars.

Is owe an action?

If I said: Here's ten dollars and gave you a ten dollar note

well giving is an action, right? But to owe someone money

that's not an action.

So I can't say:

I'm owing you ten dollars, can I?

We just keep it simple.

I know there are a few things that are confusing about

Perhaps you've seen the words loving, smelling,

and owing around.

And now you're wondering

why is Emma telling me that using these verbs in this form

Just because you can't use these verbs in continuous tenses,

that you won't see them in an -ing form.

Don't worry, this is something that confuses a lot of my students.

It's one of those really annoying things about English grammar.

-ing forms aren't only used for continuous verb tenses.

We use them as adjectives, and nouns too, don't we?

Remember our friend, the gerund?

But I have got a super little tip for you.

A great way to check if it's an -ing form of a verb

is to look for the auxiliary verb be.

Be will always be there if it's a continuous verb form.

Auxiliary verb be plus the main verb in -ing form.

That equals the continuous tense.

We were listening to music.

Sarah is having a baby in March.

Can you see those auxiliary verbs?

They're telling us that listening and having,

they're action verbs.

But take a look at these sentences.

I heard some surprising news.

Is surprising a verb?

Surprising is an adjective

and it modifies the noun news.

Gives us some extra information.

Playing football is his passion.

Playing is a gerund.

Playing football is the subject of our sentence.

It's a noun phrase.

Seeing is believing.

What about here?

Are either of these verbs?

This one's a bit tricky.

In this example, both seeing and believing are gerunds.

They're nouns but they look like verbs.

So this structure is just the same as saying:

Tomorrow is Monday.

Tomorrow and Monday are nouns.

Seeing and believing are also nouns.

So even though these words shouldn't be used as verbs

in -ing form, you will definitely see them around as adjectives

Probably the most complicated part of this is that there's a

groups of verbs that have both an active and a stative meaning.

And they're the ones that require you to really think about

the meaning of the verb before you decide

which tense is appropriate to use.

Now I've been pointing them out as we've been going through

this lesson, but I really just want to spend a couple of minutes

going a little deeper here on the common ones.

I mentioned that have is a stative verb when it means possession.

Micky has a red bike.

So here, if we replace has with own, or possess,

we know it's a stative verb.

And the meaning stays the same, right? We can assume

that have is stative.

So that means we can't say

Mickey is having a red bike.

It's the same when we use have to describe a quality.

They have brown hair.

So we can replace have with possess in this sentence.

So have in this context is stative.

They have brown hair.

We can't say: They are having brown hair.

but is coming up quite a bit during this lesson,

well there are a few exceptions.

Because we use have a lot in English

and it has different meanings each time. It can mean:

or to experience.

So these verbs are all action verbs

which means we can use them in the continuous tenses.

We're having a party this weekend.

Have means host.

She's having a baby in June.

Have is expect.

They were having lunch.

So now, have means eat.

So just make sure you stop every now and again

and just think about the true meaning of have.

Can you replace have with own or possess?

Or does it mean something else?

This will be a really good guide if you're trying to decide

whether to treat this as a stative or an active verb.

The next verb to be careful of is be.

So be in this sentence refers to

part of your personality, so this is a fact, a state. It's who you are.

You are a funny person.

But if I say: You are being funny.

Here, be means you're acting or behaving in that way.

So in this context, it's perfectly okay to use the continuous form.

The other verb I want to mention is think.

Now think can be active or stative.

But when think means to have an opinion,

then it's stative.

What do you think about these earrings?

But when think means consider, it's an action.

What are you thinking about ordering?

There's one more thing that I want to mention

that I want you to be aware of.

Sometimes these rules are broken by native speakers

especially in informal context.

You'll hear someone saying: I'm loving this song!

In the moment of enjoying the song, they'll say that.

Are you wanting my help with that?

Here in Australia I hear people saying things like this

all the time, so where does that leave us?

Is it wrong to say: I'm loving it?

I mean McDonald's has kind of made that pretty standard now.

Are the millions of English speakers using the verb love

incorrect when they say: I'm loving it?

Let's just say that this is one of the many ways that English

is changing and evolving.

I mean, rules are made to be broken, aren't they?

Are you ready to test what you've learned today?

I really want you to practise using these stative verbs accurately.

So I'm gonna give you some sentences where the verb has been

used incorrectly and you need to correct them

either by changing the tense or by swapping out the verb.

Let's do the first one together.

They were thinking it was a bad idea.

What does thinking mean in this sentence?

Does it mean to have an opinion

or to consider something?

It means to have an opinion so it's a stative verb.

We can correct it by saying:

They thought it was a bad idea.

Now it's your turn.

So just make sure you pause the lesson after each example

so you have time to think about the answers.

And of course, write those answers down in the comments below

so that I can come down and check them all out for you.

I am wishing you a happy birthday.

She didn't answer the phone because she was hearing music.

They are not believing in magic.

I have been knowing Lucy for 5 years.

You are having your birthday party tomorrow.

Well that's it for this lesson! I really hope that it was useful

to learn about action and stative verbs,

Really focusing some time and energy on learning stative verbs

will help you to understand how to use them accurately

in your English sentences.

Now I've got a few other grammar lessons that will be really useful

for practising stative and active verbs okay? I've added the links

to them down in the comments below.

As always, make sure you're subscribed to the channel,

turn on the notifications so I can let you know when there's a

new lesson here for you.

I will be back next week with another lesson for you

but until then, why don't you check out this one, right here?

I'll see you in there.