Language Practice

Intermediate

Grammar reference    Intermediate 01 Trends

State verbs
We usually use state verbs to express states, such as thoughts, feelings,
possession and things we experience. We most often use these verbs in
simple tenses, even if we mean ‘just now’.
• How we think
I believe you.
He agrees with her.
• What we feel
She loves fashion.
That looks delicious!
• What we possess
They have a beautiful home.
That bag belongs to me.
• What we experience
Do you hear that?
Look over there!
Examples of state verbs for how we think are: Examples of state verbs for how we feel are:

think prefer realize like want appear

know understand remember dislike feel (to have an look
believe mean forget hate opinion) sound
agree imagine recognize love seem need

Examples of state verbs for what we possess are: Examples of state verbs for what we experience are:

have (got) own be hear smell seem

belong include see look taste
When we want to emphasize that the feeling or attitude is temporary,
we can sometimes use some state verbs in continuous tenses, particularly
with verbs that express how we feel. For example, I’m feeling tired.
State verbs can also be used in informal speech as a modern idiom.
For example: I’m loving this pizza.
State verbs can have different meanings if they are used in the present
simple or present continuous. For example:
I have a headache. (illness)
I’m having lunch. (action)
I think it’s a great idea. (opinion)
I’m thinking of getting a new phone. (consider)
I wasn’t thinking about what I was doing. (pay attention)