Stative Verbs
Stative verbs are verbs that describe a state and not an action. They are usually used in the simple forms. For example, 'play' is an action so we can say 'playing' . 'Believe" is not an action verb so we say " I believe " you.
State verbs generally fall into 4 groups:
Emotion: love, hate, want, need
Possession: have, own, want, belong
Sense: see, hear, smell, seem
Thought: know, believe, remember
Here are some more examples of state verbs:
doubt , dislike , understand , suspect , own , belong , know , like , need , want , seem , mean , believe , forget , remember , prefer , hate , love , see
Some verbs can be both state and action verbs
Some words can be state verbs and action verbs. The meaning of these verbs is then different. Take a look at these:
'I have a car.' – state verb showing possession
'I am having a bath.' – action verb which, in this case, means 'taking'.
'I think you are cool.' – state verb meaning 'in my opinion'.
'I am thinking about my holidays' – action verb meaning 'considering'.