Stative Verbs Examples [List]
Stative verbs describe a state or situation, not action. It is about how something feels, seems, or appears. Stative verbs express physical as well as mental states. Usually, these verbs are not used in progressive (continuous) tenses. Moreover, they usually talk about on-time expressions like at the moment and now. Simple tenses are used for them.
Stative verbs categories
Stative verbs can be categorized in the following ways:
- Thoughts and opinions:
Believe, agree, guess, imagine, doubt, know, mean, remember, recognize, suspect, understand, think.
- Feelings and emotions:
Hate, dislike, like, love, want, wish, prefer, adore, feel, enjoy
- Senses and perceptions:
Be, appear, hear, feel, see, seem, look, taste, smell, sound, look
- Possession and measurement:
Have, belong, own, measure, weigh, possess, include, want
- Being
Is, are, be, weigh, involve, contain, consist
Examples of Stative Verbs
Following are the examples of stative verbs according to their categories.
Remember, there are no hard and fast rules for these categories. The same verbs can be used in different categories.
Thoughts and opinions:
Believe, agree, guess, imagine, doubt, know, mean, remember, recognize, suspect, understand, think.
- Believe me, I will do my best and help you.
- I don’t agree with you, don’t give me a strong argument.
- Can you imagine she can do this?
- Do you mean I did this?
- You should understand the situation.
- He will doubt this result.
- I guess he will never go there.
- I don’t want to remember anything related to her.
Feelings and emotions:
Hate, dislike, like, love, want, wish, prefer, adore, feel, enjoy
- Do you want me to go with you to the market?
- Dell feels alone at the party.
- I prefer noodles on spaghetti.
- Michael S adores her and wants to marry her.
- They enjoyed the cricket match.
- I wish I was there and can see the sea view.
- Her mother loves her most.
- She hates fiction.
Senses and perceptions:
Be, appear, hear, feel, see, seem, look, taste, smell, sound, look
- Can you see him?
- Look at the wall.
- He asked me to taste his recipe.
- Stan Shih heard all the conversation.
- Be patient.
- It seems it will rain soon.
- He smelled some unpleasant odor.
- They were planning against Dell and suddenly he appeared there.
Possession and measurement:
Have, belong, own, measure, weigh, possess, include, want
- I belong to America.
- How much are your possessions?
- Zhang Yiming will measure the ground.
- She owned a factory.
- How much does it weigh?
- Dell included all the raisers and sharpeners in the packet.
- Do you have a conveyance or should I drop you at your home?
- He wanted to do this job but his father did not permit him.
Being
Is, are, be, weigh, involve, contain, consist
- Mind your own business and don’t get involved in my matters.
- This paragraph consists of two parts.
- This glass contains milk.
- We are sorry, we couldn’t complete this task.
- Be brave, you can do this.
- She is very proud and looks down upon the poor.
- This packet weighs 50 grams.
- The cat is pretty enough to be liked by everyone.
