General characteristics of verbs. State verbs in English and action verbs: list and use. Stative verbs Verb denoting action, feeling, state

general characteristics verb as part of speech

Verbs are words that denote the actions or states of a person, as well as an object, and answer the questions what to do? and what to do?
(run, run away, chop, chop off, sleep, fall asleep, etc.).

Verbs can indicate not only actions and states, but also signs (the meadow turns green), quantity (doubled, tripled energy), and attitude towards someone or something (respected his comrade).

The verb meanings listed above are also found in words of other parts of speech, in particular in nouns and adjectives. Wed: the clock of the Kremlin tower strikes - the clock of the Kremlin tower strikes, walked with a horse - moves with a horse, read a book - reading a book, they are building an object - building an object, his face turns red - his face gradually becomes red, etc. Why do the words strike, walked , read, build, blush belong to the verb, and fight, move, read, build, red - to other parts of speech?

Unlike other parts of speech, the verb, naming an action, state, sign, quantity, relation to someone or something, indicates, firstly, the producer, doer (subject) - someone or something is walking, reads, beats, blushes, secondly, for the duration of the action (beats, walked, read). Thirdly, the verb has forms that allow us to evaluate an action, state, sign as real or only desirable, possible: double, double, would double; build, build, would build.

Thus, a verb is a part of speech that denotes an action or state in its relation to person, tense and mood.

Morphological features of the verb - changes in moods, tenses, persons, numbers and genders. In addition, verbs have a conjugation, can be transitive and intransitive, reflexive and non-reflexive, and can indicate aspect.

The verb is the richest part of speech. Each verb has a whole system of forms, cf.: read-read, read, read, read, read, read-read, read, read-will read, will read, will read, will read, will read, will read - read, read, read would-read, read, read, read-read.

Some verb forms are conjugated, others are non-conjugated.
The infinitive, participle and gerund are unconjugated; all others are included in the group of conjugated ones (face shape, tense, inclination).

The most important syntactic function of a verb is to be predicate. The main forms of the verb (person, tense and mood forms) are used exclusively as a predicate, which is why they are called predicative
(predicate-predicate).

Of all the verb forms, only the infinitive can be any member of a sentence, including the predicate.

All verb forms are combined with nouns - they control nouns, “demand” a noun in a certain case (with or without a preposition). Wed: beg a comrade, approach a comrade, talk about a comrade; I’m talking (said, will speak, speak, would speak, speaking, speaking, speaking) about a comrade.

The verb also has word-formation features that distinguish it from other parts of speech. Thus, verbs are actively formed using prefixes (this method is used less actively to form words of other parts of speech). The verb has “its own” suffixes: -a- (to dine), -well- (to shout),
-sya (splash down), etc.

General concept of verb types

Denoting an action, the Russian verb can also indicate whether it in its development, course, has achieved the final goal, the desired result. Let's explain with examples: 1) I wrote a letter - the verb wrote not only indicates a certain process, but also reports that this process at some point in time achieved the final goal of the desired result
(the letter turned out to be written). 2) I wrote a letter - the verb wrote only indicates that this process took place in the past, continued for some time, lasted, but does not say anything about whether the goal or the desired result was achieved. ‘

Thus, in some cases, the verb acts as a simple designation of an action (I wrote a letter. Tomorrow she is going to the theater. My brother read | this novel), in others, the verb, denoting an action, additionally informs about the achievement of the goal by this action, about the achievement of the result (I wrote a letter. Tomorrow she will go to the theater. My brother read this novel).

Achieving a goal or desired result by an action is called the internal limit in the development of an action. View as one of the signs; The verb indicates the presence or absence of an internal limit in the development of the action.

The perfect form denotes an action in the development of which there was or will be an internal limit (i.e. the result was or will be achieved): decided-will-decide, write-write, buy-buy, sing-sing, went-goes, etc. The imperfect form denotes an action without indicating an internal limit, in this case attention is focused on the representation, the statement of the action itself: reads - read - 'will read, walks - walked - will walk, whistles - whistled - will whistle, sings - sang - will sing .

In addition to the basic meanings (indication of an internal limit or lack thereof), perfective and imperfective verbs can have additional shades. Thus, many imperfect verbs also indicate the repetition of an action: sign, read, ache, push, throw, ride, etc., and a number of perfect verbs indicate, on the contrary, one-time, instant actions: throw, push, turn around and etc.

The species is easily recognized by the question: what to do? - imperfect look, what to do? - perfect view. The aspect characterizes all forms of the verb: 1) read (what to do?), I read (what am I doing?), read (what did I do?), I will read
(what will I do?), read (what are you doing?), reading (doing what?), read
(doing what?), reading (doing what?); 2) read (what to do?), read
(what will he do?), read (what did he do?), the novel read (what was done with the novel?), having read (what did he do?).

Perfective verbs have two tenses: past and simple future (bought-will-buy, throw-throw, sang-sing, etc.). Imperfect verbs have all three tenses: present, past and complex future buys - bought - will buy, throws - threw - will throw, sings - sang - will sing).

General characteristics of the person of the verb

The verb, denoting an action, process, state, also indicates who or what performs this action or process, who or what experiences this state, i.e. the verb also determines the producer of the action.
Wed: It’s nice to walk through morning Moscow - the infinitive walk names only a specific action (as opposed to, for example, go, run) and does not indicate who is walking around Moscow. But: I’m walking, I’m walking, I’m walking, I’m walking, I’m walking, I’m walking - in this case, each form of the verb. and out of context gives us the idea of ​​who is walking, that is, who is the producer of the action.

The producer of an action in morphology is called the term person. But the person of the verb determines the producer of the action not in general, but from the point of view of the speaker. Hence: 1) if the speaker himself is the producer of the action
- this is the 1st person: I am walking around Moscow; 2) if the producer of the action is his interlocutor - this is the 2nd person: You are walking around Moscow; 3) if the producer of the action is a person not participating in the conversation, or a phenomenon of the animal world, nature, any object in question, this is the 3rd person of the verb: He is walking around Moscow; The moon floats in motionless heights... A rooster crows in the village behind the ridge, and morning comes in seconds.

An action can be performed not by one person, but by several: We walk along
Moscow - 1st person plural. h.; You would be walking around Moscow - 2nd person plural. h.; They walk along
Moscow - 3rd person plural. h.

The action can be associated with several phenomena of the animal world and nature, with several objects: Swifts lying on the window cornices, cypress trees looking out the window; Trams are grinding over the park... Parrots are screaming heart-rendingly... Thus, the three persons of the verb are not only in the singular, but also in the plural.

The verb has an indication of person in all moods. For example:

I learned Russian - 1st person indicative; Wait for me, and I will return... - 2nd person imperative; Wait for us tomorrow - 2nd person plural. including the imperative mood.

1st and 2nd person units. and plural verbs indicate a person or a personified “humanized” object. For example, in “The Extraordinary Adventure...” of Mayakovsky, the sun, “having caught his breath, spoke in a bass voice: “I am driving back the lights for the first time since creation” - here the 1st person points to
“humanized” natural phenomenon (the sun).

3rd person) can indicate both a person-actor and an object-actor:
The conductor shouts from the stairs; Engines are roaring, trains are flying, lights are on the campsite.

General concept of verb tenses

Time, as one of the main forms of existence of endlessly developing matter, is expressed in language by a verb.

The implementation of any action, process, state in time is considered in morphology from the point of view of the speaker. Thus, the tense of the verb expresses the relationship of an action, state, process to the moment of speech.

In modern Russian there are three tenses: present, past and future.

The present tense names an action that is happening at the moment it is spoken about. For example: They ask to go to the dining room - here the verb ask indicates that the action is performed at the same time when the speaker reports it, i.e. the action coincides with the moment of speech.

The past tense refers to an action that occurred before the moment of speech. For example: The soldiers dispersed into platoons into apartments. The parade ground was empty - the verbs dispersed, empty show that the named actions took place before the moment of speech, before the speech began about it.

The future tense names an action that will occur or is thought to be possible after the moment of speech. For example: - Now, to spite them all, tomorrow I will sit down with books, prepare and enter the academy - the verbs I will sit down, prepare, and enter indicate actions that will happen or may happen after the moment of speech, which seem to the speaker as quite possible in the future.

Verb tenses are closely related to types: imperfective verbs are used in all three tenses (I am writing, wrote, I will write); perfective verbs have only two tenses - past and future (wrote, will write).

General concept of verb mood

An action can be considered by the speaker in different ways: 1) as real
(happened, happened - wrote, wrote; happens - I write; happens or will happen - I will write, I will write); 2) as desirable (write a letter to your brother) or possible (I would write a letter to my brother, but I don’t have time).

Thus, from the point of view of the speaker, in one case the action corresponds to reality (it was, is or will be), in the other - there is actually no action, but it can happen or could happen under certain conditions.

Comparing such forms of the verb as write-e and write-and, would write, we come to the conclusion that the concepts of the reality of an action, on the one hand, and its unreality (in the sense of desirability, possibility) - on the other, are expressed in the Russian verb by special indicators . The ability of a verb to express the degree of reality of an action with certain indicators is called mood.

The Russian verb has three moods: indicative, imperative, subjunctive (or conditional).

Reflexive verbs.

Verbs with the suffix –sya (-s) are called reflexive: get dressed
- getting dressed, getting dressed, getting dressed, etc., washing - washing, washing, washing, etc. The suffix –sya (-s) differs from other suffixes in that it comes after all morphemes, including after endings: going, going.

Reflexive verbs have various additional meanings that non-reflexive verbs do not have:

1) return meaning: the boy dresses, combs his hair, i.e. dresses himself, combs his hair;

2) mutual meaning: friends hug, kiss, i.e. hug each other, kiss each other;

3) the meaning of a constant property: the nettle stings, the cow butts, the dog bites;

4) passive meaning: the house is being built by masons. With a reflexive verb with this meaning, the subject denotes the object undergoing the action (the subject of the house does not itself produce the action, it is built by masons).

Conjugation of verbs.

Changing verbs according to persons and numbers is called conjugation. Verbs are conjugated only in the indicative mood in the present and future tense. In the past tense, verbs change according to gender and number.

There are two conjugations in Russian - the first and the second. Verbs that have the endings -eat, -et, -eat, -ete, -ugl, -yut, belong to the I conjugation.

Verbs that have the endings -ish, -mot, -im” -ite, -bet, -yat belong to the II conjugation.

Verbs have I conjugations in the 3rd l. pl. The endings are -ut (-yut), and for verbs of the second conjugation - am (-yat).

If the emphasis falls on the stem and personal endings are difficult to distinguish by ear, then the conjugation is determined by the infinitive

The second conjugation with unstressed personal endings includes: a) all verbs that have -it in the infinitive: saw, thresh, harrow, etc. (except for the verbs shave, lay and those formed from them shave, lay, re-lay, etc.); b) seven verbs in -et: look, see, depend, hate, endure, twirl, offend and formed from them look, see, etc.; c) four verbs in -at: hear, breathe, hold, drive, and those formed from them hear, breathe, hold, etc.

The remaining verbs with unstressed personal endings belong to the I conjugation.

Bibliography

1. Kaydalova A.I., Kalinina I.K. Russian language. M., MSU1978.
2. Misiri G.S., Gab S.P. Russian language. M., Higher school. 1979.
3. Chesnokova L.D. Russian language. Difficult cases of morphological analysis.

M., Higher school. 1991.
4. Chesnokova L.D., Bukarenko S.G. Collection of exercises on the morphology of the modern Russian language. M., Higher school. 1988.

The verb is the king of the English language. Even the shortest sentence always contains a verb. Conversely, a verb can be used to form a one-word sentence, for example “ Stop!” (“Stop!”).

Verbs are sometimes called "action words." This is partly true. Many verbs convey the idea of ​​action, of “doing” something—for example, “ run” (run), “ fight” (fight), “ do" (do), " work" (work).

But some verbs mean not action, but existence, not “doing,” but “being.” These are verbs like “ be" (be), " exist" (exist), " seem” (seem) “ belong”(belong).

A subject is attached to a verb as a predicate. So, in the sentence “ Mary speaks English” (“Mary speaks English”) Mary is the subject and the verb speaks - predicate.

Thus, we can say that verbs are words that explain what the subject does ( does) or what/what is ( is), and describe:

• action (" John plays football” - “John plays football”);
• state (" Ashley seems kind” - “Ashley seems kind”).

Verbs in English language there is one peculiarity. Most words in other parts of speech - , etc. - do not change (although nouns have singular and plural forms). But almost all verbs change according to grammatical forms. For example, the verb “ to work” (“work”) five forms:

• to work, work, works, worked, working

Note, however, that this is not much compared to languages ​​in which one verb can have 30 or more forms (for example, Hungarian) - if you have started learning verbs in , you can breathe a sigh of relief.

100 main verbs in English

Below is a list of the top 100 English verbs. It will be useful to first learn these most popular verbs in the English language. The verbs in the table are given in descending order of frequency of use:

	Basic verb form	Verb in past tense (Simple Past)	Past participle (Past Participle)
	have (to have)
	do (to do)
	say (speak)
	get (receive)
	make (to do)
	know (know)
	think (think)
	take (take)
	see (to see)
	come (to come)
	want (want)
	use (use)
	find (find)
	give (give)
	tell (tell)
	work (work)
	call (call; call)
	try (try)
	ask (ask; ask)
	need (need)
	feel
	become (become)
	leave (leave)
	put (put; put)
	mean (mean)
	keep (keep)
	let (allow)
	begin (start)
	seem (seem)
	help (help)
	show (show)
	hear (hear)
	play (play)
	run (run)
	move (move)
	believe (believe)
	bring (bring)
	happen (happen)
	write (write)
	sit (sit)
	stand (stand)
	lose (lose)
	pay (pay)
	meet (meet)
	include (include)
	continue (continue)
	set (set)
	learn (learn)	learned/learned	learned/learned
	change
	lead (lead)
	understand
	watch (watch)
	follow
	stop (stop)
	create
	speak (speak)
	spend (spend)
	grow (grow)
	open (open)
	win (to win)
	teach (teach)
	offer (offer)
	remember (remember)
	appear (appear)
	buy (buy)
	serve (serve)
	die (to die)
	send (send)
	build (build)
	stay (stay)
	fall (fall)
	cut (to cut)
	reach (reach)
	kill (kill)
	raise (raise)
	pass (pass)
	sell (sell)

It can be classified according to different criteria, and one of them is the transfer of an action or state of an object. Accordingly, all verbs can be divided into dynamic or action verbs ( Dynamic Verbs) and static or stative verbs ( Stative Verbs).

Dynamic verbs communicate that an object performs a certain physical action. Most of the verbs known to us belong to this group ( to eat, to run, to write, to burn, etc.), and each of them describes a specific, understandable physical action.

Another thing is stative verbs. Their task is clear from the name: they convey states, feelings, attitudes, mental processes and other characteristics of the subject. For example, state verbs include such simple and familiar words as to love And to hate, to remember And to forget, to understand And to believe, to look And to feel. We learn these verbs almost in our first English lessons and don’t even know that they fall into a certain classification and have their own grammatical features. And their main difference from dynamic verbs is that they are not used in group timesContinuous , i.e. they cannot have a long time. Indeed, it is impossible to observe how we remember or believe, this is not a physical process, but the result of human mental activity. The same can be said about everything Stative Verbs(of course, with some exceptions, as is usually the case in English).

First, let's find out what other verbs refer to Stative Verbs and what groups they are divided into:

1. Verbs of physical perception ( verbs of physical perception): to hear, to notice, to see.
2. Verbs of emotional state ( verbs denoting emotions): to adore, to care for, to detest, to dislike, to hate, to like, to love, to respect.
3. Verbs of desire ( verbs denoting wish): to desire, to want, to wish.
4. Verbs of mental activity ( verbs denoting mental processes): to admire(meaning “to admire”), to appreciate, to assume, to believe(believe), to consider(to be considered as someone, to be considered as), to doubt, to expect(believe), to feel(believe), to imagine, to know, to mind(mind), to perceive, to assume, to recall, to recognize, to recollect, to regard, to remember, to suppose, to think(think), to trust, to understand.
5. Verbs of relation ( relational verbs): to apply, to be, to belong, to concern, to consist, to contain, to depend, to deserve,to differ, to equal, to fit, to have, to hold(contain), to include, to involve, to lack, to matter, to need, to owe, to own, to possess, to remain, to require, to resemble, to result, to signify, to suffice.
6. Other verbs: to agree, to allow, to appear(seem), to astonish, to claim, to consent, to displease, to envy, to fail to do, to feel, to find, to forbid, to forgive, to intend, to interest, to keep doing, to manage to do, to mean, to object, to please, to prefer, to prevent, to puzzle, to realize, to refuse, to remind, to satisfy, to seem, to smell, to sound, to succeed, to suit, to surprise, to taste, to tend, to value.

It seems that remembering such a huge list of unrelated English words simply unrealistic. In fact, there is no need to do this, the main thing is to understand the principle by which this or that verb got into it, and it is important to remember that these verbs do not denote a physical action. You can simply memorize the names of the groups, and the verbs will come to mind on their own.

So, we must remember that all these verbs are stative verbs and do not use them in group tenses Continuous, because we don’t want to seem illiterate! Remember the simplest phrases in English:

• I understand you. / I understand what are you mean .
• I need a minute to write it down.
• I like roses.
• I have a car.

We never talk I'm understanding or I'm needing in simple English speech.

It seems that everything is clear, and then it’s time to talk about exceptions. In this case, they will be determined by English words, i.e., the possibility of having more than one lexical meaning. For example, the same verb can mean physical action and belong to one of the types of state verbs. Among them is such a clear and familiar verb to see:

to see- see ( stative), meet ( dynamic).

I see a woman in an elegant suit. – I see a woman in an elegant suit.

He’s seeing his parents after work. – He meets his parents after work.

Here's another example:

to appear- seem ( stative), perform on stage ( dynamic).

She appears to be very happy with her new fiancé. “She seems very happy with her new fiancé.”

My favorite band is appearing on Sunday. – My favorite band performs on Sunday.

Verbs taste(have a taste/taste), smell(smell/smell), look(look/look) feel(feel/touch) think(think/ponder) also obey this principle. To figure out whether a verb in a particular case is dynamic or static, you need to have a good understanding of the context in which it is used.

It is interesting to observe the use of the verb to have both static and dynamic. So when to have is a verb of state and has the meaning “to have”, “possess”, it cannot be used in Continuous Tenses. But if to have is part of a stable expression ( to have dinner, to have a shower), it starts working as a dynamic verb:

We have a big house in the suburbs. – We have a big house on the outskirts of the city.

I’m having lunch, so I’ll call you later. – I’m having lunch now, so I’ll call you later.

Verb tobe can also be used in group times Continuous, but only under a certain limitation: it will be used to convey temporary state or behavior, for example:

You are being too quiet today. What's wrong? – You’ve been completely quiet today. What's happened?

She is being a pop-star. “She acts just like a pop star.”

In addition, the verb to be should be put in Continuous for grammatical reasons in the forms Present Continuous Passive And Past Continuous Passive:

A new church is being built in our district. – A new church is being built in our area.

An applicant was being interviewed when I came to the office yesterday morning. – When I came to the office yesterday morning, a job applicant was being interviewed.

Verb toenjoy can be used in Continuous Tenses, if it denotes enjoyment of something specific:

I’m enjoying my holiday in Italy. – I feel very good on vacation in Italy.

I'm enjoying the performance a lot. – I love this performance so much!

In other cases to enjoy acts as a verb of state:

I enjoy watching horror films at night. – I like watching horror films at night.

Verbs tolook (to look like), tofeel (feel), tohurt And toache (to hurt) can be used both in tenses Continuous, and in times Simple, the meaning will not change, and it will not look like a grammatical error.

You"re looking much younger in this brightly-colored summer dress. = You look much younger in this brightly-colored summer dress. – In this bright summer dress you look much younger.

I’m feeling more confident after my promotion. = I feel more confident after my promotion. – I feel more confident after the promotion.

My leg hurts me. = My leg is hurting me. - Leg hurts.

And finally the most interesting thing. Most stative verbs can be used in tense Continuous to express strong positive or negative emotions or a special attitude:

I'm loving you. - I love you so much!

I’m hating the way you treat waiters. “I really don’t like the way you treat waiters.”

I'm needing you, don't leave! – I really need you, don’t go!

State verbs ( Stative Verbs) may seem like a difficult topic, although don't panic if you don't fully understand it right away and remember all the verbs and the differences in their meanings. Read more often, think about why the author uses a specific tense and how he expresses it, and you will simply no longer need to learn static verbs. There is a mention of static verbs in the description of almost everyone, so sooner or later this topic will be learned by itself.

If you find an error, please highlight a piece of text and click Ctrl+Enter.

When I started studying a foreign language at school, I did not attach much importance to this subject. The realization of its importance came a little later, when I became interested in what my favorite songs were about. From that moment on, learning English made sense, and with it came the desire to understand as much as possible and speak it. English fascinated me with its bright style, clear organization on the one hand and unexpected flexibility on the other. This passion led to me graduating from the Faculty of Foreign Languages ​​in 2007 with qualifications as a teacher and technical translator. I really wanted to be a good translator, but it so happened that I got a job on courses and started teaching. It turned out that teaching can be done in different ways, and not just the way it was done at school or universities. Many roads are open to teachers, different methods have been invented, the main thing is not to forget to use them, to make teaching varied and individualized. We implement all these discoveries in our online school “Inglex”, conducting classes via Skype.

Having studied the tenses of the Continuous group, you are faced with the fact that there are verbs that are not used in the continuous tense. They are called Stative verbs or State verbs. They express a situation that exists, but not a situation that is in process.
Is it possible to use state verbs in continuous form? We'll tell you when to use the stative verbs in and . Soon you will learn everything to speak English comfortably. After studying the entire rule, go through exercises on stative verbs.

What are stative verbs

Stative verbs are verbs that express state rather than action. They usually relate to thoughts, emotions, attitudes, feelings, states and being. These verbs are not usually used with - ing endings in continuous tenses, even if they are used with expressions such as “now” and “at the moment,” we use simple tenses.

Let's give an example:

I need a new telephone - I need a new phone.
Who does does this book belong to? – Who owns this book?
Do you see that house over there? - Do you see that house?

And it’s not worth saying that:

I'm needing a new telephone.
Who is this book belonging to?
Are you seeing that house over there?

Stative verbs in English are not usually used in continuous forms. We use them when we talk about relationships, thoughts, feelings or belonging. But what's the catch? How to use Stative verbs in English? First, let's look at what groups state verbs are divided into.

Stative verbs by group and their meaning

Exclusion verbs to pay attention to.

a. Verbs that express likes and dislikes(emotional attitude)	Like, love, dislike, hate, enjoy, prefer, care, adore, respect, appreciate (=value), detest, forgive, loathe.
b. Verbs of senses	See, hear, smell, taste, feel, hurt, look, sound, notice, smell, recognize, observe, distinguish.
c. Verbs of mental activity	Know, believe, understand, agree, expect (=think), suppose, realize, remember, forget, think, see (=understand), etc.
d. Verbs of possession	Be, contain, include, belong, won, owe, have.
Other verbs	Fit, need, matter, cost, mean, want, weigh, wish, keep (=continue), appear (=seem), require, resemble, etc.

*Verbs that express physical perception, we can often use them with .

Examples:

Can you see that old man over there? – Do you see that old man over there?

One more point to remember. Verbs feel(feel), hurt(to get sick) can be used in both continuous and simple forms:

A: How are they feeling today? OR How do they feel today?
B: My arm is hurting. OR My arm hurts.

Some of the ones we listed above can be used in the long tense, when they describe an action, but not a state, and in such cases their meaning changes.

State verbs in English list with examples and translation into Russian

This table is divided into two columns. One contains verbs denoting a state, the other, denoting actions. Go through the list carefully, focusing on how the meaning of verbs changes when we add the ing ending. At the end of the Stative verbs table, there will be a button, when clicked, you can download it to your computer.

State		Action
Think: I think you're right – I think you're right.	opinion: think, consider, believe	I'm thinking about going to the cinema - I'm thinking about going to the cinema.	process: think, try.
Taste: This bread tastes delicious - This bread tastes great.	to taste	She is tasting the food to see if it’s good – She tries the food to make sure it’s good.	sample
Have: Film stars have a lot of money - Movie stars have a lot of money.	have, own	He is having a business meeting - He has a business meeting.	part of an established expression
Feel: The silk shirt feels soft – A silk shirt feels soft to the touch.	to the touch	I'm feeling the dog’s fur – I touch the dog’s fur.	feel, feel
See: I see. That’s why you are wearing a suit – I understand. That's why you wear a suit.	understand, see	Joe and Lucia are seeing each other – Joe and Lucia are dating.	meet
Smell: Your perfume smells of limes – Your perfume smells like lime.	smell	I'm smelling your roses - I smell your roses.	to sniff
Love/enjoy: I love breathing in clean, country air – I love breathing clean country air.	at all	I'm loving every minute of this walking trip – I like every minute of this walk.	specific
Look: Sam looks cold - Sam looks frozen. It looks as if it’s going to rain – It looks like it’s going to rain.	looks like	Sue is looking out of the window – Sue looks out the window.	look
Appears:Mr. Jones appears to be asleep - Mr. Jones seems to be asleep.	it seems that	My favorite singer currently is appearing on stage tonight - My favorite singer is performing on stage today.	perform, appear
Weight: The piano is too heavy. It weighs too much – The piano is too heavy. It weighs too much.	to weight	The grocer is weighing the nuts – The seller weighs the nuts.	weigh
Be: Jim is usually rude – Jim is usually rude.	constantly	But today Jim is being polite to his colleagues – But today Jim is polite to his colleagues.	Now
Fit: These shoes fit you perfectly – These shoes suit you perfectly.	fit to size	They are fitting a smoke alarm in the living-room – They install a smoke alarm in the living room.	embed
Expect: I expect you would like something to drink - I think you want something to drink.	think, believe	Are you expecting visitors this morning? – Are you expecting guests today?	wait
Hear: Turn the radio down. I can't hear you – Turn down the radio. I can not hear you.	hear	The court is hearing a case of murder next week - The court is considering a murder case next week.	sort out the case
Mean: What exactly do you do mean by that? - What did you mean by this? (What do you mean?)	keep in mind	I've been meaning to ask you that question for weeks – I’ve been wanting to ask you this question for a long time.	get ready to do something

Certain adjectives can be used with continuous forms to express time characteristics.

Adjectives in question:

• a. foolish - stupid
• b. careful - careful
• c. kind - kind
• d. lazy - lazy
• e. nice - kind
• f. patient – ​​patient
• g. (im)polite – impolite, polite
• h. silly - stupid
• i. rude - rough

Examples:

Julie is usually patient, but today she's being impatient Julie is usually patient, but today she is impatient.
You' re being very silly – You are acting very silly (usually used as a warning).

In very informal English, the –ing form is sometimes used with stative verbs. An example would be a restaurant advertisement that states, ‘I’m loving it!’ This phrase is so popular that everyone recognizes it. But is it grammatically correct? The answer is NO! And now you all know why.

Foreigners sometimes play with the language to emphasize a certain phrase, singers sometimes use incorrect grammatical forms to make the song sound in rhyme. In Russian everything is exactly the same. Use this as an example to remember what the stative verbs rule is so that your English sounds perfect in the future!

Simple and fun video. Everyone can understand. Recognize which state verbs are used in the video.

Action verbs in English

Dynamic or action verbs describe situations that occur within a limited time, situations that have a definite beginning and end.

Examples of action verbs (examples of verbs describing actions)

ache arrive ask call change cook

dance eat fall feel go grow

have help hit hurt itch kick

knock leave melt read say shrink

sing speak talk throw travel watch

They can be used in both progressive and simple form:

—Where are you calling from?

— Who was she dancing with?

Having studied the list of stative verbs, it’s time to try your hand at the exercises. Prove to yourself that it is easy and simple! After answering all the questions, click on the ‘Submit’ button and check your answers. This stative verbs test is designed to help you understand the difference between action and state verbs in English.

Stative verbs exercises

In the test you need to complete sentences in the correct form in Present Indefinite or Present Continuous and, of course, translate a couple of sentences into English. Before starting the exercise, repeat the rule on state and action verbs again. Have fun!

Verbs in English can be divided into two large categories: dynamic and static. If the former describe an action, then the latter reflect concepts such as emotions, feelings and perceptions, state, attitude towards something.

List of stative verbs in English

Before becoming familiar with the grammatical features of such parts of speech, it is important to learn to distinguish these words from dynamic ones. Static ones include:

• verbs expressing the physical perception of reality by the senses:

  to hear (hear), to see (see), to smell (smell), to feel (feel);

• verbs expressing desire:

  to want (to want), to desire (to desire), to wish (to wish);

• verbs conveying emotional state:

  to like (to like), to hate (to hate), to dislike (to dislike), to respect (to respect);

• verbs reflecting mental processes:

  to think, to consider, to believe, to know, to imagine, to doubt, to recognize, to trust, to understand (understand), to remember (remember, remember, remember), to expect (expect), to suppose (assume);

• verbs of possession:

  to have (have), to posess (possess), to obtain (acquire, acquire), to own (own), to belong (belong);

• verbs of relation:

  to be, to consist of something, to contain, to involve, to resemble, to include, to depend ( depend), to matter (to matter);

• modal verbs:

  need (to need), can (to be able to), ought to (to be due), must (to be obliged), dare (to dare), may (to obtain permission).

Characteristics of static verbs

You need to learn to distinguish these words from dynamic verbs. In English grammar there are a number of cases where they cannot be used. In particular, stative verbs are not used in Continuous tenses, since a feeling or emotion cannot be represented as a process.

I feel better now. – I feel better now. Incorrect: I’m feeling better now.

Verbs included in the list of static ones, in other meanings or phrases, can acquire dynamic properties and be used in long tenses:

• to have in the expressions to have breakfast/lunch/dinner, have a lesson, etc.:

Jane is having lunch at the moment she can’t answer the phone call. Jane is having lunch now; she can’t answer the phone.

• to see meaning “to meet”:

Mike is seeing his uncle in an hour. Mike is meeting his uncle in an hour.

• to look in set phrases to look for (search), to look forward to (look forward to):

My granny is looking for her glasses. – My grandmother is looking for her glasses.

• to smell – to smell:

I am smelling these wonderful flowers. – I smell these wonderful flowers.

There are many such exceptions. It is important to understand when an action cannot be represented as a process.

What have we learned?

State verbs in English are meant to describe feelings, emotions, belonging, etc. They cannot be used in Continuous tenses.

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