Questions tagged [stative-verbs]
A stative verb describes a state of being, as opposed to a dynamic verb which describes action.
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Stative verbs and adjectives/adverbs
Premise:
Verb 'want' is normally (?) stative
We use adverbs when we have an action verb and adjectives when the verb is stative
In sentence "I want it bad(ly)" we would use the adverb '...
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The position of suddenly in passives
In the corpora I've found examples like:
They were suddenly disconnected.
They were suddenly freed up.
I couldn't find examples when suddenly in the position like above occurs with stative verbs. ...
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Is the linking verb 'be' always considered a stative verb?
I got a quesiton recently which was:
True or False: The linking verb 'be' is always considered a stative verb?
To my knowledge, the answer should be True (i.e., the verb 'be' is always supposed to ...
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Using "would" to describe past habits with verbs that represent permanent states
I know that WOULD can be used to talk about past habits, just like USED TO.
"I used to take a walk every morning."
"I would take a walk every morning."
I also know that WOULD ...
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Perfect tense + +'for' vs. Perfect tense + 'over/during'
Page 423 of Collins Usage Guide reads,
To say how long something has been the case, use
for:
(1) We've been married for seven years.
To mention how long something has been happening, use
during/...
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Why can’t we use the present continuous for the future with “be” itself by saying “I’m being there tomorrow”’?
The rule we were taught says that present continuous can be used for the future when the action implies “planning and arrangement”.
And yet if I planned to be somewhere tomorrow, I still couldn’t say:
...
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To Feel One’s Heart Fill/Filled With?
“Stephen felt his heart filled by Fleming’s words and did not answer.”
I read this sentence, from Portrait of the Artist, and wondered if the use of the past participle filled was an abbreviation or ...
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Can "stand" be stative?
In the sentence "I stand corrected", the word "stand" seems like a stative (a state of being) rather than dynamic usage. Similarly, "I can't stand eating liver" seems ...
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Is "disappear" stative or dynamic [closed]
I believe that disappear (and vanish) are stative verbs because it seems that they do not have progressive aspect. I want to confirm it.
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Is "sleep" stative or dynamic
Sleep means to rest your mind and body, usually at night. So it should be stative. But we often say something like "I am sleeping". So it looks also like a dynamic verb. Is sleep stative or dynamic or ...
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Used to and would
Is the verb "work" a state? For example, the sentence "I used to work as a doctor." is grammatically correct but is "I would work as a doctor." also correct? It doesn't sound weird, is it because it ...
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Is “happen” stative or dynamic [duplicate]
The progressive tense is allowed for happen, e.g. "It is happening now". Thus happen should be a dynamic verb. However, it seems that happen also looks like a stative verb sometimes, e.g. "I happen to ...
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Is "understand" also a dynamic verb
It is well known that understand is a stative verb. But it can also mean "in the process of understanding". So "I am understanding it" sound ok, which suggests that understand is dynamic as well. Any ...
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The book is/lies/sits on the table
You're describing a book's location at the moment of speaking.
a. The book is on the table (right now).
b. The book lies on the table (right now).
c. The book sits on the table (right now).
I think ...
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Which one is the right form of Stative verb "stand"?
I am looking for an explanation why,
She stands in the shade of a tree.❌(wrong)
She is standing in the shade of the tree.✅(correct)
but,
The temple is standing in the heart of the city.❌(wrong)
...
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What tense is "I am broken"?
This seems to be some type of present tense, but guides to verb tense only give the following two options: present progressive tense and present perfect tense.
Present progressive tense uses a present ...
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Which verbs cannot be used in the progressive form in any case?
We know for a fact that if a stative predicate is used in the progressive form, it will change the meaning of the sentence, e.g. 'I have a car' / 'I'm having a headache', where in the former a ...
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Does "I like my new car" express a permanent or temporary state?
We all know that
Simple Present is normally used for "more permanent state" & Present Continuous for "more temporary state" (Source)
She lives with her parents.
We use the present simple ...
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Can "I was married two years ago" have more than one meaning?
The simple past tense has various uses; here are two:
First Use: Simple past is used to show a completed action in the past and we know the time that the action completed.
I saw a movie ...
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Why state verbs are seen as not having any definite beginning or end? [duplicate]
People say:
• English verbs can be placed in various classes depending on their
meaning. In other words, they can be classified “semantically.” The
most important of these classes are: event ...
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Why "missing", but not "needing" or "wanting"?
The following sentence is OK:
The table is missing a leg.
But the next two sentences sound a bit off (to my native ear, at least):
The campaign is needing support.
I am wanting an apple.
The verbs ...
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Is "doubt" a stative verb
The worst thing “is doubting” yourself. Is the use of this verb phrase “is doubting” correct? Many grammar books say “doubt” is a stative verb and cannot be used in the progressive form but I have ...
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Using stative verb "want" in progressive
Some days ago I found an interesting question.
As I know we can use some stative verbs in continuos with a difference in meaning. There are two sentences:
We'd been wanting to go to New Zealand for ...
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Why not "that hears disgusting" [duplicate]
So, why isn’t hear an action verb, like its sensory siblings? I can write, “That feels disgusting” and substitute feels with looks, smells, and tastes, but “That hears disgusting” doesn’t make sense; ...
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Are “Get” or “Grasp” stative or dynamic verbs?
In Merriam–Webster, the definition of understand is as follows:
to get the meaning of something / to grasp the meaning of something.
Now my questions are regarding a sentence like:
I don’t ...
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Can one be "looking" surprised? [duplicate]
I was recently proofreading an ESL textbook and came across a photo of a woman. She had a surprised look on her face. Underneath were four options that the student was to pick. One of them was: "...
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"Ing form of see (Seeing)" [closed]
Seeing the light despite the darkness
I got this "headline" from the Guardian newspaper. But as far as I know, it's not possible to use "see+gerund" when see does not mean visit. Then, why did the ...
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History of the phrase "I was like.." or "I was all..."
When telling a story, it's near essential at some point to state what you said or felt. The younger generation uses phrases "I was like...", OR the similar "I was all...", to ...
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I have a bodyguard in order to protect myself
I have a bodyguard in order to protect myself.
I was told that I cannot have a stative verb in the required condition:
I have a bodyguard
But I don't understand how "I need to study in order to ...
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Prepositions in stative verbs in passive structures
I wonder how it can be possible for a 'stative verb', that is not intransitive, to be used in a 'passive structure'.
I know there are a lot of passive sentences containing stative verbs.
The ...
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In “Why do you think this is?” is the verb “to be” a linking verb or a stative verb?
In this clip, you can hear the following question:
Recent polls have shown a fifth of Americans can’t locate the US on a world map. Why do you think this is?
It’s not clear to me if the clause “...
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Usage of stative verb "expect"
I am wondering if the verb expect is used as a stative verb in the following sentence:
I entered the classroom and [to expect] to see some students but instead I found a note which said [...]
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Stative verbs, "to be in labour"
I was wondering if in the construction to be in labour, the verb be is stative, and for this reason we can't use it in the progressive aspect.
Or, is this next construction grammatically correct: she ...
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Verbs not normally used in the present continuous
I found the information below in a grammar book:
The following verbs are not normally used in the present continuous :
like, love, hate, want, need, prefer, know, realize, suppose, mean, ...
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What is a verb that means "is possible"?
These phrases have the same meaning:
an existing X / X is existing / X exists
As do these:
a possible X / X is possible / X [sought word]
Is there a verb that corresponds to 'exists', but has ...
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Is "to wear" also used as a "dynamic verb" meaning "to don", "to put on"?
My intuition was that the verb to wear could be used in two ways (besides all its other senses that is.)
A "stative" sense related to the state of having clothes (etc) on.
A "dynamic" sense related ...
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Is "dress" in this sense a stative verb?
When one uses "dress" to show the particular way that one dresses, is dress a stative verb?
For example, "She dresses well" or "He dresses extravagantly."
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Is "made" in this sense stative or dynamic?
"Several subsequent voyages were made."
Is the verb "made" here stative or dynamic?
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What is the difference between saying "I wasn't knowing" and "I didn't know"? [closed]
I was wondering what is the difference between I wasn't knowing and I didn't know? If I say, I wasn't knowing, I am talking about something unknown in past, the act of not knowing is finished, it ...
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Stative and Dynamic Verbs
Please explain how a stative verb and a dynamic verb can have the same subject without breaking parallel construction.
How correct and reasonable is this:
I travel around the world and enjoy flying,...
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Is "have" as in "I have to go" a stative verb or a dynamic verb?
You generally have two types of "have":
(1) He has two sons. (stative)
(2) He has lunch alone. (dynamic)
A stative "have" can be followed by "got", whereas a dynamic &...
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I see and I hear
Traditional English prescriptive grammar teaches that these two verbs, to see and to hear, when describing their sensory nature, should never be used in the progressive aspect of tenses.
Thus
I am ...
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"Wanting" or "want"? (Stative verbs: participial clauses; present continuous usages?)
Lately I have noticed that a lot of people use "wanting" in sentences, or in books, but I don't get it because my English teachers have always said to me that with verbs like "love", "like", "want" ...
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Interpretation of 'have' as stative or dynamic
Please bear with me. It's been a long time since I looked up grammatical concepts.
The sentence is:
I can quite clearly see the bewildered looks you will be having on your faces on reading this. ...
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"How long have you [had/been having] this?" - Cont. or Simple?
I'm studying Present Perfect tenses at the moment and have been wondering what tense should I use in this example:
How long have you [had/been having] this thing?
So I know that in some cases (...
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Is this usage of "inside" correct?
This text is taken from a children's reader. It's about some children who find a doll house that is an exact reproduction of their home.
Biff opened the little house. Everyone looked inside. "It ...
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Is "he plays the piano" stative or dynamic?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stative_verbs:
The same verb may act as stative or dynamic. An English phrase like
"he plays the piano" may be either stative or dynamic, according to
context.
...
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What's the difference between "I want" and "I am wanting"?
What is the difference between the two?
Why and where is the latter very strange sounding variant used?
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