WEBVTT FILE

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Well hey there! I'm Emma from mmmEnglish

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and I'm so excited to be bringing you this lesson today.

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It's a grammar point that is so

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often overlooked by English teachers but one that's gonna reveal

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some little known secrets about English verbs.

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And these secrets are gonna dramatically improve

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your English accuracy,

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particularly when it comes to continuous tenses.

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We're talking about stative verbs and usually

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stative verbs can't be used in continuous tenses

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though this is a common mistake for a lot of my students.

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Now you might be thinking

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stative verbs, surely they're not that common?

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Surely there's just a few of them that I've got to worry about.

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Well, have I got news for you.

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Some of the most common English verbs are stative verbs

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You use them every time that you speak in English.

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So this lesson is really important,

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I want you to watch it all the way through and save it.

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So what on earth is a stative verb anyway?

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Stative verbs are also called state verbs.

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They express a state, rather than an action.

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And they're often related to things like

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our thoughts and our opinions, our senses

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our feelings and emotions, possession 

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and then a bunch of other verbs that aren't really actions.

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But don't worry, we'll take a closer look at all of those

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different types of verbs in a minute.

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The most important thing that you need to know

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is that many of them are used only in the simple tenses.

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So that's the present simple, past simple,

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present perfect simple, past perfect simple

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and the future simple.

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So that means you can't use stative verbs in which tenses?

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The present continuous, the past continuous,

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the present perfect continuous, the past perfect continuous

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and the future continuous.

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Now unlike many things in English grammar,

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this rule is a simple rule to remember.

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Stative verbs can only be used in simple tenses.

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Now there are some exceptions,

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there's always exceptions in English, right?

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But I will talk about those in much more detail later in this lesson.

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Here.

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Know.

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Have.

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Like.

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Measure.

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These are all examples of a stative verb.

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Now I said that stative verbs describe a state,

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but what does that really mean?

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The verb hear requires no action from its subject.

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Did you hear the sound?

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When the alarm goes off, you're gonna hear it

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whether you choose to hear it or not, right?

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Hearing is one of the five senses,

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it's not an action that we can choose to do.

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Hear is a state verb.

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But the verb listen is an action verb.

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Are you listening to me?

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We get to choose whether or not we listen

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to someone or something, right?

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If you don't wanna listen to the radio,

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it's up to you, you can turn it off.

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The same rule applies with the verbs see, watch and look.

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See is a sense.

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Watch and look are actions.

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So far so good?

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Where things can get a little tricky is that some verbs

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have both an active and a stative meaning.

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The verb measure is a good example.

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We can say:

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The table measures sixty centimetres by sixty centimetres.

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So here, measure is describing the quality of the table,

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it describes a fact.

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So in this context, measure is a state.

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I'm measuring the window to fit the curtains.

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Here, measure is an action.

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So I'm carrying out the action of measuring for the curtains.

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There are more verbs that fit into the category

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and I'll share a few more of them with you

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as we go through this lesson.

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But now that we've got those basics down,

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let's get stuck into learning about stative verbs in context.

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We can break stative verbs down into about five categories.

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The first one is verbs of thought and opinion.

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The best way to recognise and remember new words

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is to learn them in context.

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Now there are two stative verbs in that sentence,

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can you see them? 

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Recognise and remember.

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So they're both verbs of thought and opinion, 

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so they're both stative verbs.

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It's incorrect to say:

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I'm recognising the man across the street.

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I am not remembering your name.

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Stative verbs need simple tenses. We just say:

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I recognise that man.

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I don't remember your name.

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Let's try another one.

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I agree, it can be hard to understand the difference between

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English tenses. You have to know the rules inside out.

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So which is the stative verb there? Do you know?

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Agree.

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Understand.

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And know.

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She agrees with me.

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Not she is agreeing with me.

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We understand you.

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Not we are understanding you.

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You know him.

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Not you are knowing him.

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There are lots more verbs that fit into the category

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of thought and opinion.

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Believe. Concern.

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Disagree. Doubt.

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Forget. Imagine.

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Realise. Suppose.

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These are all stative verbs.

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Not a complete list but they're just some of the most

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common verbs of thought and opinion.

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The second group of stative verbs are verbs of the senses.

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Now we have five senses. Do you know what they are?

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See with your eyes.

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Hear with your ears.

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Touch with your fingers.

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Taste with your mouth.

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And smell with your nose.

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Verbs of the senses are stative verbs so we don't usually

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use them in the continuous tenses.

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Notice that I said usually,

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we don't usually use them in the continuous tenses.

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Now verbs of the senses are a little bit special

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and that's because we can also use them to talk about the act of

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tasting, smelling or feeling.

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We can say:

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I'm tasting the cake to make sure it's OK.

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We can also say:

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This cake tastes delicious.

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One is an action,

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can you guess which one?

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This one.

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I'm actively tasting the cake.

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I'm checking to make sure that it's yummy.

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This one is a state.

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It relates to perception.

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My perception of the cake is that it's delicious.

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So I'm not describing an action here.

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In that context, it's incorrect to say:

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The cake is tasting delicious.

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We just say: The cake tastes delicious.

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Another thing to be aware of is that the verb see

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has a few different meanings.

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So we can say: I saw Ruby at the supermarket.

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In that sentence see is a verb of the sense so it's stative.

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But look at these examples.

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I'm seeing Ruby tomorrow.

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He is seeing someone new.

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So seeing means meeting. I'm meeting Ruby tomorrow.

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And it also means being in a relationship.

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He's in a relationship with someone new.

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So in these sentences, the verb see is describing an action.

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And in that context,

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it's perfectly okay to use a continuous tense.

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The third group is verbs of feeling and emotion.

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I need to find out what Gloria likes doing in her free time.

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Now there were two verbs of feelings or emotion in that sentence. 

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Can you guess which ones they are?

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Need and like.

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You can absolutely use these verbs in the simple tenses

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but it's incorrect to use them in the continuous form.

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I was needing some information.

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What is Gloria liking?

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Now of course,

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there are lots of other verbs that fit into this category. 

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Verbs like: Love

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Dislike. Adore.

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Wish. Prefer.

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And surprise.

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These are all verbs of feeling and emotion and you should avoid

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using them in continuous tenses.

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The fourth group is verbs of possession. They're verbs like

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Belong. Own.

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Possess.

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and have.

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The bicycle belongs to my brother.

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But not: The bicycle is belonging to my brother.

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She owns a red Ferrari.

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She has been owning a red Ferrari for a long time.

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Now the verb have also falls into this category but only

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when it means to own or possess something.

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Now have is a bit of an exception so I'm going to go into more

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detail about it later on in the lesson.

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The last group of stative verbs is

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well it's just everything else.

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And by that I just mean any other verbs that aren't actions.

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Like: Depend

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Deserve.

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Promise.

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Owe.

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Seem.

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Fit.

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Weigh.

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And measure.

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So these verbs don't describe an action.

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I promise not to be late.

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Is promise an action?

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When I make a promise, I don't actually do anything do I?

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I just say the words.

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I promise.

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But there's no physical action there, is there?

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It's just a stative verb.

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So I can't say:

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I am promising not to be late.

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That's incorrect. We just use the present simple here.

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I promise.

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How about: I owe you ten dollars.

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Is owe an action?

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If I said: Here's ten dollars and gave you a ten dollar note

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well giving is an action, right? But to owe someone money

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that's not an action.

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So I can't say:

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I'm owing you ten dollars, can I?

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We just keep it simple. 

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I owe you.

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I  know there are a few things that are confusing about

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stative verbs.

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Perhaps you've seen the words loving, smelling,

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and owing around.

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And now you're wondering

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why is Emma telling me that using these verbs in this form

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is wrong?

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Just because you can't use these verbs in continuous tenses,

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doesn't mean

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that you won't see them in an -ing form.

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What?

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Don't worry, this is something that confuses a lot of my students.

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It's one of those really annoying things about English grammar.

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-ing forms aren't only used for continuous verb tenses.

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We use them as adjectives, and nouns too, don't we?

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Remember our friend, the gerund?

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But I have got a super little tip for you.

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A great way to check if it's an -ing form of a verb

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is to look for the auxiliary verb be.

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Be will always be there if it's a continuous verb form.

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Auxiliary verb be plus the main verb in -ing form.

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That equals the continuous tense.

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We were listening to music.

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Sarah is having a baby in March.

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Can you see those auxiliary verbs?

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They're telling us that listening and having,

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they're action verbs.

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But take a look at these sentences.

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I heard some surprising news.

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Is surprising a verb?

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Surprising is an adjective

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and it modifies the noun news.

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Gives us some extra information.

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Playing football is his passion.

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Playing is a gerund.

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Playing football is the subject of our sentence.

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It's a noun phrase.

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Seeing is believing.

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What about here?

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Are either of these verbs?

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This one's a bit tricky.

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In this example, both seeing and believing are gerunds.

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They're nouns but they look like verbs.

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So this structure is just the same as saying:

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Tomorrow is Monday.

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Tomorrow and Monday are nouns.

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Seeing and believing are also nouns.

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So even though these words shouldn't be used as verbs

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in -ing form, you will definitely see them around as adjectives

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and nouns.

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Probably the most complicated part of this is that there's a

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groups of verbs that have both an active and a stative meaning.

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And they're the ones that require you to really think about

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the meaning of the verb before you decide

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which tense is appropriate to use.

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Now I've been pointing them out as we've been going through

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this lesson, but I really just want to spend a couple of minutes

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going a little deeper here on the common ones.

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I mentioned that have is a stative verb when it means possession.

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Micky has a red bike.

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So here, if we replace has with own, or possess,

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we know it's a stative verb.

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And the meaning stays the same, right? We can assume

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that have is stative.

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So that means we can't say

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Mickey is having a red bike.

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It's the same when we use have to describe a quality.

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They have brown hair.

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So we can replace have with possess in this sentence.

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So have in this context is stative.

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They have brown hair.

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We can't say: They are having brown hair.

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But

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but is coming up quite a bit during this lesson,

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well there are a few exceptions.

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Because we use have a lot in English

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and it has different meanings each time. It can mean:

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To host,

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expect,

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eat or drink

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or to experience.

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So these verbs are all action verbs

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which means we can use them in the continuous tenses.

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We're having a party this weekend.

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Have means host.

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She's having a baby in June.

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Have is expect.

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They were having lunch.

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So now, have means eat.

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So just make sure you stop every now and again

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and just think about the true meaning of have.

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Can you replace have with own or possess?

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Or does it mean something else?

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This will be a really good guide if you're trying to decide

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whether to treat this as a stative or an active verb.

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The next verb to be careful of is be.

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You are funny.

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So be in this sentence refers to

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part of your personality, so this is a fact, a state. It's who you are.

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You are a funny person.

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But if I say: You are being funny.

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Here, be means you're acting or behaving in that way.

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So in this context, it's perfectly okay to use the continuous form.

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The other verb I want to mention is think.

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Now think can be active or stative.

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But when think means to have an opinion,

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then it's stative.

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What do you think about these earrings?

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But when think means consider, it's an action.

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What are you thinking about ordering?

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There's one more thing that I want to mention

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that I want you to be aware of.

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Sometimes these rules are broken by native speakers

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especially in informal context.

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You'll hear someone saying: I'm loving this song!

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In the moment of enjoying the song, they'll say that.

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Are you wanting my help with that?

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Here in Australia I hear people saying things like this

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all the time, so where does that leave us?

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Is it wrong to say: I'm loving it?

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I mean McDonald's has kind of made that pretty standard now.

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Are the millions of English speakers using the verb love

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incorrect when they say: I'm loving it? 

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Let's just say that this is one of the many ways that English

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is changing and evolving.

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I mean, rules are made to be broken, aren't they?

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Are you ready to test what you've learned today?

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I really want you to practise using these stative verbs accurately.

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So I'm gonna give you some sentences where the verb has been

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used incorrectly and you need to correct them

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either by changing the tense or by swapping out the verb.

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Let's do the first one together.

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They were thinking it was a bad idea.

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What does thinking mean in this sentence?

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Does it mean to have an opinion

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or to consider something?

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It means to have an opinion so it's a stative verb.

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We can correct it by saying:

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They thought it was a bad idea.

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Now it's your turn.

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So just make sure you pause the lesson after each example

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so you have time to think about the answers.

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And of course, write those answers down in the comments below

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so that I can come down and check them all out for you.

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I am wishing you a happy birthday.

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She didn't answer the phone because she was hearing music.

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They are not believing in magic.

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I have been knowing Lucy for 5 years.

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You are having your birthday party tomorrow.

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Well that's it for this lesson! I really hope that it was useful

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to learn about action and stative verbs,

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Really focusing some time and energy on learning stative verbs

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will help you to understand how to use them accurately

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in your English sentences.

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Now I've got a few other grammar lessons that will be really useful

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for practising stative and active verbs okay? I've added the links

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to them down in the comments below.

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As always, make sure you're subscribed to the channel,

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00:20:05.490 --> 00:20:08.612
turn on the notifications so I can let you know when there's a

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new lesson here for you.

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I will be back next week with another lesson for you

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but until then, why don't you check out this one, right here?

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I'll see you in there.