Stative and Dynamic Verbs

Introduction

Verbs in English can be classified into two categories: stative verbs and dynamic verbs. Dynamic verbs (sometimes referred to as "action verbs") usually describe actions we can take, or things that happen; stative verbs usually refer to a state or condition which is not changing or likely to change. The difference is important, because stative verbs cannot normally be used in the continuous (BE + ING) forms. This will explain the differences between the two types of verb, and give lots of examples of each kind.

Dynamic verbs

There are many types of dynamic verbs, but most of them describe activities or events which can begin and finish. Here are some examples:

Dynamic Verb	Type	Examples
play	activity	She plays tennis every Friday. She's playing tennis right now.
melt	process	The snow melts every spring. The snow is melting right now
hit	momentary action	When one boxer hits another, brain damage can result. (This suggests only ONE punch.) When one boxer is hitting another, brain damage can result. (This suggests MANY repeated punches.)

Dynamic verbs, as you can see from the table above, can be used in the simple and perfect forms (plays, played, has played, had played) as well as the continuous or progressive forms (is playing, was playing, has been playing, had been playing).

Stative verbs

Stative verbs usually refer to a state or condition which is quite static or unchanging. They can be divided into verbs of perception or cognition (which refer to things in the mind), or verbs of relation (which describe the relationships between things). Here are some examples:

Stative Verb	Type	Examples
hate	perception	I hate chocolate.
believe	perception	She believes in UFOs.
contain	relation	The box contains 24 cans of soda.
own	relation	Yong owns three motorbikes.

Note that we CANNOT use these verbs in the continuous (progressive) forms; you CAN'T say "*Yong is owning three cars." Owning is a state, not an action, so it is always in the simple form.

Example verbs

Here some common stative and dynamic verbs. The lists may help you to understand what types of verbs are likely to be stative and what types are commonly dynamic.

Stative Verbs	love; hate; like; see; hear; sound; think (meaning "have an opinion"); mind (meaning "care about"); recognize; seem; have (meaning "own"); prefer; doubt; consist of; mean
Dynamic Verbs	eat; drink; go; type; read; write; listen; speak; watch; say; grow; work; sleep; cook; talk

Dynamic verbs, as you can see from the table above, can be used in the simple and perfect forms (plays, played, has played, had played) as well as the continuous or progressive forms (is playing, was playing, has been playing, had been playing).

When you are sure that you understand the lesson, you can continue with the exercises.

Stative and Dynamic Verbs 1

Decide whether each verb is normally stative or dynamic.

Click on the button beside the correct answer.

1 / 10

1. paint
   1.   stative
   2.   dynamic
2. believe
   1.   stative
   2.   dynamic
3. read
   1.   stative
   2.   dynamic
4. want
   1.   stative
   2.   dynamic
5. understand
   1.   stative
   2.   dynamic
6. jump
   1.   stative
   2.   dynamic
7. smell (for example "This fish smells funny.")
   1.   stative
   2.   dynamic
8. remember
   1.   stative
   2.   dynamic
9. seem
   1.   stative
   2.   dynamic
10. change
    1.   stative
    2.   dynamic

    Stative and Dynamic Verbs 2

    This exercise is like a TOEFL test exercise. Each sentence has four underlined sections; your task is to identify the section with a grammar mistake — in other words, the section which is wrong.

Click on the button beside the correct answer.

1 / 5

1. I don't understand stative and dynamic verbs. They seem very confusing. I am hating them, because they are driving me crazy!
   1.   don't understand
   2.   are driving
   3.   am hating
   4.   seem
2. I play tennis every Tuesday. Last week, I was playing with John, a man I am knowing from work, when a bird flew into the tennis net.
   1.   am knowing
   2.   flew
   3.   was playing
   4.   play
3. While Keiko was fixing the car, I was making the supper. By six o'clock I had been working for eight hours, so I was needing a good meal.
   1.   was fixing
   2.   was needing
   3.   was making
   4.   had been working
4. When I called Sarah, she said she watched TV, so she didn't want to come out with me, so I went to the pub alone.
   1.   went
   2.   didn't want
   3.   called
   4.   watched
5. Mohammed owns two different houses. He likes to live in his house by the sea when the weather is good, but in the winter he is preferring to live in the city.
   1.   owns
   2.   is preferring
   3.   likes
   4.   is