Recently, I encountered the term "non-continuous verb" used by an English language learner to describe verbs that can't be put into the present progressive (for example: "possess"; no one would say "I am possessing"). Although I found the term on at least one website (EnglishPage.com), and at least one question here at EL&U (https://english.stackexchange.com/questions/349938/present-progressive-with-non-continuous-verbs), I find the term confusing. It suggests that the verb is not continuous, when in fact it is continuous by its very nature. It strikes me that a term like "inherently continuous" would be more accurate. My questions are the following:
- Is "non-continuous verb" a favored term among linguists?
- Is it a favored term among English language teachers?
- Are there any widely accepted alternatives?
UPDATE: I would not consider this question a duplicate of one in which someone asked whether the verb "attempt" was punctual or durative, even though those terms are useful here. First of all, that question was restricted to a specific verb. Secondly, the term "stative" was not mentioned in that discussion.