UNIVERSITY OF CARTAGENA

FINANCIAL ENGLISH I
ENGLISH VI. SIXTH SEMESTER 02
PLACE PIEDRA DE BOLIVAR DATE / /20

Stative Verbs: Meaning and Use

STATE OR ACTION?
Stative verbs do not generally occur in the continuous, however there are some common exceptions:

1. Stative verbs that express physical sensations (feel, hurt, ache, tingle and itch) can be used with either the
simple present or the present continuous, without changing the meaning. The sentences in each pair below
have the same meaning.
Present simple Present continuous
My foot hurts My foot is hurting
I feel sick I´m feeling sick

2. Am being, is being or are being plus adjetive expresses a more temporary meaning tan am, is or are plus
adjective. Compare these examples:

Two mothers are describing their children:

The kids are being so good today! I´m really surprise. They don´t usually behave in restaurants.

The kids are so good. we can take them anywhere without worrying about their behavior.

This continuous are use of be requires a certain kind of adjetive to follo being. Compare these examples:

He´s being foolish. I´ve never seen him act like this.

He´s being sick. I´ve never seen him act like this. (INCORRECT)

These sentences show that the adjetive must describe behavior that the subject can control such as good
behavior or foolish behavior. For these reason, you can´t say, for example,

“He´s being sick” or “He´s being” pale. (INCORRECT)

3. Some stative verbs have both a stative meaning and an active meaning. With the stative meaning, the
simple present tense is generally used when talking about the present. But with the active meaning, the
present continuous is used. These verbs include taste, smell, see, weigh, and have. Notice that with actions
you can ask the question what are you doing? , but with states you cannot.
State Action

Tom: what´s the matter? Tom: what are you doing?

Ann: I taste something strange in this soup. Ann: I´m tasting this soup to see if there is something
wrong with it.

I smell something awful. What is it? I´m smelling the milk to see if it is spoiled.

I don´t see anyone in the hall I´m seeing Robert now. (seeing=dating)

I weigh 120 pounds on that scale. I am weighing myself on that scale because mine is
broken.

I have a computer at home. i´m having trouble with my computer. It´s not
working today.

1 Repositorio unit three.

When have means to possess, it expresses a state and must be in the simple present. But when have means to
experience, or to eat or drink, it has ana active meaning and is used in the continuous. Other examples of have
iin the continuous include: having dinner, having a good time, and having a baby.