In my opinion,the difference between state verbs and dynamic verbs (often ‘action verbs’) is not always convenient. We should oppose resultative states to processes that lead to state.
For instance, "I've got a car" is the resultative state of "I've bought a car", "I've borrowed a car" or "I've taken my car" (so we can go on a ride); "I have a car" means "I own a car" because I've bought it or I've come to be in its possession by other means.
HAVE, which is considered a state verb or a stative verb, is actually the end result of HAVE BOUGHT or HAVE GOT, that is the result of a prior operation (buy a car / get a car).
As GET is a verb of obtention, you can get or obtain a result at the end of the operation. Once you've obtained a result, you've got it or you have it.
The result of obtention can be possession or ownership:
"I've got a car" (present perfect) and "I have a car" (present simple) are very close in meaning: this means that the present simple can be viewed as a synthesis of the present perfect.
Similarly there is little difference between "I've understood" and "I understand": if you've understood, it means you understand. In colloquial English, you can say "Get it?" (Do you understand?) and "Got it!" (I have understood).
You can't normally say "I'm having a car" or "I'm understanding" because the progressive doesn't fit the idea of perfective which is inferred in the end result.
On the other hand, you can say "I'm having a sandwich" because HAVE works here as a verb of action and more precisely as a verb of process (I'm eating a sandwich). The end result would be "I've eaten / I've had a sandwich".
You can say "I'm learning my lesson" but you can't say "I'm knowing my lesson": "I know my lesson" is equivalent to "I've learned my lesson" and is the end result of "I'm learning my lesson".
"I like chocolate" is a perfective present which means something like "I've come to the conclusion that chocolate is good / enjoyable". But you can say "Are you liking your stay / your vacation so far?" because the progressive infers that it's not a perfective / definitive / end state : "so far" means that some of the process has been accomplished but not the whole process. The present progressive is actually a form of present imperfect.
As far as "I'm lovin' it" (the commercial phrase by Mcdonald's), it suggests or makes believe that you're HERE and NOW, as if you were at the McDonald's in the place, enjoying your burger, as you are eating it, and that you are also enjoying your fries, your coke, the happy meal, the toys, the environment,and using your imagination, the whole thing in every single thing that McDonald's has to offer to its customers.
Much in the same way, you can say "I'm having fun (so far)", "I'm enjoying myself" or "I'm loving every minute of it", which means that your loving it is not over. You're going through a process but you're not through with it.
Ask yourself this question: why would HAVE and ENJOY be sometimes acceptable in the present progressive and not LIKE or LOVE? You can say "What do you think?" or "What are you thinking?", "What do you say to a cup of tea?" or "What are you saying?". Is it just a question of state and action verbs?
Why would THINK be a state verb at times and an action verb at others? Is thinking a state of mind or an action? I think therefore I am (state?) / I'm thinking therefore I'm doing (action?).
In my opinion, "I'm thinking" means you're going through a process of thoughts whereas 'I think" means you have (you've got) a thought or an opinion. THINK is not a state verb nor an action verb. Would you say that "a thought" is a state noun or an action noun? I would say that a thought is the result or the output of what I've thought.
It has to do with motion and the end of motion (or the result of motion); the process is being carried out (I'm thinking) or carried out (I think) / Either you consider the process that leads to state or the state itself as the result of the motion that led to it.
You can say "I've done my homework" or "I'm through with my homework": The notion of motion through space and time is carried out by the preposition THROUGH. The time / tense issue is not just a question of verbs (I'm done with it / I'm through with it), and it is obvious that the perfective aspect is not just a question of "present perfect", as opposed to a "present simple" or a present progressive", which is actually a "present imperfect".
The -ING form also appears after a preposition:
- Thank you for coming
- I'm looking forward to meeting you.
Originally, "He is hunting" (present progressive) comes from "He is a-hunting", the "a" being a reduction of the preposition ON (he is on hunting).
Now there are a lot of nouns of activity which take the ING ending: hunting, reading, swimming, hiking, biking, horse-riding, (etc), and "swimming" could be considered as an adjective in a "swimming contest".
You may wonder what is the difference between "I swim" and "I'm swimming", but you may also wonder about the difference between 'Let's go swimming" and "Let's go for a swim", or "I like swimming" and "I like to swim".
Do you remember this song by ZZ Top, “Give me all your lovin'?” What would be the difference with "Give me all your love"?
It seems to me that there is a process of activity, or a frame of activity within which you can go through:
Gimme all your lovin'
All your hugs and kisses too
Give me all your lovin'
Don't let up until we're through
The adverb THROUGH is relevant of "going through' an activity (don't let up until we're through).
Now if you say "It's raining", "He's being a fool", "Your transaction is being processed" or "I'm lovin' it" it's about the same idea: a transaction leads from a state to another and therefore carries through an action (TRANS means THROUGH in latin).
The ING form is a progressive form within a frame of activity which considers an ending point from a starting point: 'if it is raining' it means 'it started raining' and 'it will be raining for some time' before 'it stops raining'. There's a sort of travelling to point B from point A.
