Stative and Dynamic Verbs

All verbs in English are classified as either stative or action verbs (also referred to as ‘dynamic verbs’).

Dynamic verbs describe actions we take (things we do) or things that happen and are used in continuous forms.

Stative verbs express a permanent state rather than an action and do not have continuous forms.

e.g. I believe he is innocent. (not: I am believing)

The list of most commonly used stative verbs:

a)verbs denoting physical perceptions: to hear, to notice, to see;

b)verbs denoting emotions: to adore, to care for, to detest, to
dislike, to hate, to like, to love, to respect;

c)   verbs denoting wish: to desire, to want, to wish;

d)verbs denoting mental processes: to admire (= to be of high
opinion), to appreciate, to assume, to believe (= to consider), to con
sider (= to regard), to doubt, to expect (= to suppose), to feel (= to
consider), to imagine, to know, to mind (= to object), to perceive, to
presume, to recall, to recognize, to recollect, to regard, to remember,
to suppose, to think (= to consider), to trust, to understand;

e)   relational verbs: to apply, to be, to belong, to concern, to con-
sist, to contain, to depend, to deserve, to differ, to equal, to fit, to
have, to hold (= to contain), to include, to involve, to lack, to mat-
ter, to need, to owe, to own, to possess, to remain, to require, to re-
semble, to result, to signify, to suffice;

f) some other verbs: to agree, to allow, to appear (= to seem),
to astonish, to claim, to consent, to displease, to envy, to fail to
do, to feel, to find, to forbid, to forgive, to intend, to inter-
est, to keep doing, to manage to do, to mean, to object, to please,
to prefer, to prevent, to puzzle, to realize, to refuse, to remind, to
satisfy, to seem, to smell, to sound, to succeed, to
suit, to surprise, to taste, to tend, to value.