Verbs Not Normally Used in the Continuous Aspect

1.Verbs of perception: to feel, to hear, to see, to smell, to taste Note: These verbs can be used in the continuous when they imply a voluntary action (Im tasting the tea to see if it is cold enough.) or when they have other meanings (to see=to meet, to visit, to have hallucinations, to see smb on/off/down/out, to see to; to hear=to get news, to try in legal cases; to feel in a medical way)

2.Verbs of cognition (mental activity): to agree, to believe, to doubt, to expect/ to suppose, to foresee, to forget, to guess, to imagine, to know, to mean, to mind, to remember, to recognize, to recollect, to regard, to suppose, to think (that), to trust, to understand Note: Some of these verbs can be used in the continuous with a change of meaning (to mind=to look after; to think about/ it does not express an opinion)

3.Verbs expressing wish: to desire, to intend, to want, to wish

4.Verbs expressing attitudes, emotional states: to adore, to detest, to dislike, to displease, to like, to love, to hate/ to loathe, to prefer

5.Verbs expressing possession: to belong to, to have, to own, to possess Note: To have can be used in the continuous when it has other meanings (to drink, to eat, to spend time)and appears in different constructions (They are having a great time in London.)

6.Verbs expressing a state, existence or condition: to appear, to be, to consist of, to differ, to equal, to exist, to resemble, to seem, to suit Note: To be can be used in the continuous when it expresses a temporary behavior, being followed by adjectives (She is being so kind today!)

7.Modal verbs: can, may/might, must, shall/should, will/would, ought to

8.Others: to compare, to matter, to consist of/in, to contain, to result from

9.Verbs expressing momentary actions, too short to be seen/ perceived in progress: to begin, to start, to end, to stop, to score, to punch, to kick, to die. They express nondurative actions and, when used in the continuous, verbs expressing physical contact show a repeated contact (He is kicking the ball to the wall.)