Grammar Tips: Action Verbs and Stative Verbs

Most people think of verbs as “action words.” But they actually come in two kinds: action
verbs and stative verbs. Here, we will look at the difference between the two so you can
use them with confidence in your writing.
What Are Action Verbs?

An action verb (or dynamic verb) describes an action performed (physically or mentally)

by a person, animal or object. For example:
The ballerinas leap gracefully across the stage.
We learned about cacti at school today.
These are action verbs because they describe a dynamic action (e.g., leaping) or process
(e.g., learning). They also have duration, meaning they take place over a period of time (i.e.,
they describe actions that start and finish).

Dynamic verbs can be used in the continuous tenses. This means they have “-ing” forms
(e.g., leaping or learning) that we can use to describe ongoing actions. For instance, we
could adapt the examples above as follows:
The ballerinas are  leaping gracefully across the stage.
We were learning about cacti at school yesterday.
This is much less common with stative verbs, as we will see below.

What Are Stative Verbs?

A stative verb (or state verb) describes a state of being. This is usually something that
does not change or that does not occur over a period of time in the same way as an active
verb does.
Stative verbs can refer to various states, including thoughts, emotions, perceptions,
relations, and qualities:

Timmy still believes in Santa.

I love grammar.
She smells of cheese.
The box contains many chocolates.
This elephant weighs a ton.
The common factor is that they describe a state of being or the way something is, not an
action a person or object is performing in the present. As a result, we cannot usually use the
continuous tenses with stative verbs:

Simple present: You seem tired. ✓
Simple continuous: You are seeming tired. ✗
Simple past: Harry liked to have nap after lunch. ✓
Past continuous: Harry was liking to have a nap after lunch. ✗
One potential point of confusion is that some verbs can be either active or stative. We will
look at how this works below.

Verbs That Work Both Ways

Some verbs can be either active or stative depending on the context.

Take “smell,” for example. In the example above, we used “smell” as a stative verb in

the simple present tense to describe somebody’s odor:
She smells of cheese.
But “smell” can also describe the act of smelling something:

She smelled the flower.

And since this describes a subject performing a dynamic action with a duration, “smell”
here is an active verb. The rule about not using continuous tenses with stative verbs still
applies when a word can be either active or stative. Using “smell” again, for instance, we can
see the difference below:

She is smelling the flower. ✓

She is smelling of cheese. ✗
This is the difference between a state of being (e.g., someone’s personal odor) and an action
(e.g., using the sense of smell to experience an odor).

Summary: Action Verbs and Stative Verbs

Essentially, the differences between stative and action verbs are:

 Action verbs actions performed (physically or mentally) by a person, animal or

object. The “-ing” forms of active verb can be used in the continuous tenses to describe
an ongoing action.
 Stative verbs describe a state of being, such as what something is, feels, or
possesses. They cannot typically be used with the continuous tenses.
I hope this clarifies the difference between stative and dynamic verbs.
https://getproofed.com/writing-tips/grammar-tips-action-verbs-and-stative-verbs/

Common Stative Verbs

There are many more action verbs than stative verbs. Here is a list of some the most
common stative verbs:

 Be - He is from Dallas, TX in the Southwest.

 Hate - She hates ironing clothes, but doesn't want to wear them wrinkled.
 Like - I like spending time with my friends. 
 Love - She loves her children just as any mother loves her children.
 Need - I'm afraid I don't need a new pair of shoes. 
 Belong - Do these keys belong to you?
 Believe - Jason believes the news about the company, but I don't.
 Cost - How much does that book cost?
 Get - I get the situation, but I still don't know the answer.
 Impress - Does Tom impress you with all his knowledge?
 Know - She knows the answer, but she doesn't want to give it away.
 Reach - Can I reach and take the hamburger?
 Recognize - Susan recognizes the need for a discussion.
 Taste - The wine tastes very fruity, but still has a dry finish.
 Think - I think that's a good idea. 
 Understand - Do you understand the question?

You may notice that some of these verbs can be used as action verbs with different
meanings. For example, the verb 'to think' can either express an opinion or the process of
considering. In the first case, when 'think' expresses an opinion it is stative:

 I think she should work harder on her math.

 She thinks he is a fantastic singer.

'Think', however, can also express the process of considering something. In this case 'think'
is an action verb:

 They're thinking about buying a new house.

 She's thinking of joining a health club.

Generally, stative verbs fall into four groups:

Verbs Showing Thought or Opinions

 Know - She knows the answer to the question.

 Believe - Do you believe what he says every time?
 Understand - I understand the situation very well.
 Recognize - She recognizes him from high school. 

Verbs Showing Possession

 Have - I have a car and a dog.

  Own - Peter owns a motorcycle and a scooter, but no car.
 Belong - Do you belong to the fitness club?
 Possess - She possesses an incredible talent for talking.

Verbs Showing Senses

 Hear - I hear someone in the other room.

 Smell - It smells bad in here. Did you fart?
 See - I see three trees in the yard.
 Feel - I feel happy this afternoon. 

Verbs Showing Emotion

 Love - I love listening to classical music.

 Hate - She hates to get up early every day.
 Want - I want some help with my homework.
 Need - I need some time with my friends. 

If you are unsure of whether a verb is an action verb or a stative verb ask
yourself the following question:

 Does this verb relate some sort of process or a state?

If it relates a process, then the verb is an action verb. If it relates a state, the
verb is a stative verb.

https://www.thoughtco.com/differences-between-action-and-stative-verbs-
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