italki - Non-continous or stative verbs - which verbs can't we use in the present continuous tense Non-contin

Tinnu

Professional Teacher

Non-continous or stative verbs - which verbs can't we use in the present continuous tense

Non-continuous verbs are verbs that we do not normally use with continuous tenses. These "stative" verbs are about state, not action, and they cannot express the continuous or progressive aspect. Here are some of the most common non-continuous verbs:

<ul><li>feeling: hate, like, love, prefer, want, wish</li></ul>

<ul><li>senses: appear, feel, hear, see, seem, smell, sound, taste</li></ul>

<ul><li>communication: agree, deny, disagree, mean, promise, satisfy, surprise</li></ul>

<ul><li>thinking: believe, imagine, know, mean, realize, recognize, remember, understand</li></ul>

<ul><li>other states: be, belong, concern, depend, involve, matter, need, owe, own, possess</li></ul>

Look at these examples:

- I am hungry, I want something to eat (NOT I am wanting something to eat).

- David doesn't seem very lively at the moment (NOT he isn't seeming very lively).

- Do you understand what I mean? (NOT are you understanding what I mean?).

In the case of think, sometimes we can use it in the present continuous form, it depends on the meaning, check:

1) Think meaning "believe" or to have an opinion, we do not use the present continuous.

For example: I think all children have a right to an education.

2) Think meaning "consider", we can use the present continuous form:

For example:

I am thinking about the film we watched last night.

Jason is thinking about changing job.

TIP: with verbs that we cannot use in continuous tenses, there is no real action or activity.

Compare hear and listen.

The verb "hear" means "receive sound in your ears". There is no action or activity by you. We cannot use hear with continuous tenses. But listen means "try to hear". You make an effort to hear. There is a kind of action or activity and they are known as dynamic verbs. We can use listen with continuous tenses.

For example:

I am listening to the radio.

I am listening to you.

I hear you (not I am hearing you).

Sometimes it's possible to use the verb in both the present simple and present continuous form, observe in the case of to look and to feel, both these uses are correct.

For example:

You look well today or you're looking well today.

How do you feel today? How do you feel today?

Jun 30, 2020 12:26 PM

Comments · 0

Tinnu

Language Skills

English, French, Other, Spanish

Learning Language

Other

Articles You May Also Like