The difference between stative and active verbs
Verbs are commonly explained as action words, or words that show action: run, jump, talk, laugh, skip, smile, listen. These are dynamic or active verbs, and usually include activities that have a clear beginning and end, and involve movement or change.
| Active/dynamic verbs example sentences |
|---|
| She kicked the ball into the goal. |
| We worked late last night. |
| They laughed at the joke. |
Active verbs can usually be used in continuous (progressive) tenses:
- He is eating dinner.
- They were sleeping when I called.
While actions make up a good number of verbs, they do not account for all the verbs in English. Stative verbs, in contrast, show a state or condition, as in a feeling; e.g., she feels sad.
‘Feels’ is a stative verb: it expresses a state of being. A state or feeling differs from actions or dynamic verbs, like reading, playing or exercising.
| Active Verbs | Stative Verbs |
|---|---|
| Describe actions or events | Describe states or conditions |
| Often used in continuous tenses | Rarely used in continuous tenses |
| Examples: run, jump, eat | Examples: know, love, prefer |
What are stative verbs? Examples of stative verbs
Stative verbs are usually thoughts, emotions, senses, relationships, possession, and measurements. They can indicate a relation or association, ownership or belonging, and other mental states.
They can also state situations that just exist, without a clear beginning or end.
| Type | Stative verbs example sentence |
|---|---|
| Perception | I understand how you feel. |
| Possession | I have a younger brother. |
| Feeling or opinion | I hate chocolate. |
Some verbs are both!
Some verbs can be either active or stative, depending on their meaning in context.
Example: “think”
- I think you are right. (stative: opinion)
- I am thinking about the problem. (active: mental process)
Example: “have”
- I have a car. (stative: possession)
- We are having dinner. (active: activity)
Why does this matter?
Using active and stative verbs correctly helps you:
- Choose the right tense
- Express yourself clearly
- Avoid common grammar mistakes
For English learners, understanding which verbs are stative is especially important when forming progressive (continuous) sentences.
Reference
| Type | Examples | Continuous Tense? |
|---|---|---|
| Active | kick, eat, jump, work, sleep, talk, laugh | Yes |
| Stative | agree, believe, doubt, look, see, seem | No |
Summary:
Active verbs show actions; stative verbs show states. Remember, most stative verbs don’t work with “-ing” forms, while active verbs do!
Other types of verbs
| Types of verbs | Examples |
|---|---|
| 1. active | kick, eat, jump, work, sleep, ride, talk, laugh |
| 2. stative | agree, believe, doubt, look, see, seem |
| 3. transitive | rides, kicks, buy, lay |
| 4. intransitive | sleep, laugh, think, fall |
| 5. copulas/linking verbs | forms of ‘to be’ |
| 6. auxiliaries | was, is, are, am, has, had, have |
| 7. phrasal | get up, turn off, look up, give up |
| 8. infinitives | to be, to drink, to wonder, to dance |
| 9. modals | can, could, may, might, will, would, should, must |
| 10. gerunds | swimming, running, reading, writing, singing |
| 11. regular vs. irregular | walked, played, talked, went, ate, saw, do, are, read |
Learn the parts of speech
| Part of speech | Examples |
|---|---|
| 1. nouns | Henry VIII, a dog, mountains, Paris, sand, mathematics, a cabin |
| 2. verbs | is, be, become, listening, catch, have, could, should, move out |
| 3. adjectives | beautiful, new, blue, ancient, helpful, tall, important |
| 4. adverbs | quickly, very, happily, carefully, often, almost, there |
| 5. pronouns | I, you, he, she, it, we, they, me, him, her, us, them |
| 6. prepositions | in, on, at, under, over, with, for, from, about, by |
| 7. conjunctions | and, but, or, so, because, although, while, if, since |
| 8. interjections | hurray!, yikes, ouch, wow!, ew, ugh, whoops |
