Linguistic Overview
Verbs can generally be divided into two categories: ones that convey actions, and ones that express a state that the subject holds. The vast majority of verbs belong to the former classification, which may be referred to as Action Verbs. The latter category is known as Stative Verbs.
There is no definitive list of which verbs are Stative Verbs, since certain verbs may have some definitions that qualify and some that don’t, and because there may be exceptions based on the context. But some common examples of Stative Verbs include ‘be’, ‘have’, ‘cost’, ‘seem’, ‘believe’, and ‘like’.
Stative vs. Static
Not only do the terms ‘stative’ and ‘static’ sound similar enough, there is a fair amount of overlap in their meaning. A Stative Verb embodies a state, and in many cases that state is static — that is, it remains consistent across its duration; there is little to no difference between the beginning of the state and its end.
However, this is not always the case. A state can instead by dynamic — that is, it may change over time. The word ‘become’ is an excellent example of a Stative Verbs that is also dynamic. So not every Stative Verb is static. Conversely, not every static verb is stative; an Action Verb can be static, especially if it depicts a long-term habit.
Stative Verbs & Voice
The connection between a Passive Voice verb and a Stative Verb is rather blurred; in Passive Voice, the subject is expressed as being in a state due to an action placed upon it (rather than an action the subject carried out itself). For some, a verb might be considered stative if it is passive, but this largely depends on the precise definition of voice (which, like many things, differs from one linguist to the next). We won’t dive into this debate on this page, but are simply making note of the issue.
Catalog
What follows is a list of Stative Verbs set into groups. It’s worth noting (1) that this is not a comprehensive list, and you may come across other Stative Verbs not mentioned here; and (2) that some of the words that follow might only be Stative Verbs in some applications, but that in other instance they would not qualify as such.
Linking Verbs
Static Linking Verbs are also Stative Verbs. Linking Verbs are verbs that connect the subject to a predicative adjective, and some can also connect to predicative nominals. The most common linking verb is of course BE in all its forms (am, is, are, was, were, be, being, been), but it’s not the only one.
- Verbs of Being: be, become, equal, get, remain, stay
- Verbs of Perception: appear, feel, look, resemble, seem, smell, sound, taste
Cognition & Emotion Verbs
Many verbs that relate to the mind and/or the heart are Stative Verbs; they are not necessarily actions that the subject involves themselves in. In many cases, cognition and emotion verbs remain consistent over an extended period of time; in other cases, certain cognitive verbs like realize may happen instantaneously.
- Verbs of Sensation: ache, feel, hear, hurt, see, sense, smell, taste
- Verbs of Thought: acknowledge, agree, believe, doubt, find out, forget, imagine, know, realize, recognize, remember, suppose, suspect, think, understand
- Verbs of Feeling: adore, appreciate, care, despise, hate, like, long, love, mind, prefer, regret, want, wish
Relation Verbs
Verbs that show the relationship between the subject and another noun tend to be Stative Verbs. In most of these cases, one of the nouns is subordinate to the other.
- Verbs of Ownership: belong to, have, need, owe, own, possess, want
- Verbs of Inclusion: consist of, contain, hold, include, involve, lack, require
- Verbs of Merit: depend (on), deserve
Significance Verbs
Some Stative Verbs communicate why or how much the subject matters.
- Verbs of Theme: concern, convey, fit
- Verbs of Value: amount to, cost, earn, equal, matter, mean, measure, weigh
Position/Stance Verbs
Finally, we have verbs that demonstrate where the subject stands on an issue, or where they stand within a room. This category certainly depends on context — for example, we have a Stative Verb in “the bar sits on the corner of 1st and Main,” but an Action Verb in “the patron sits down in a nearby booth.” Phrasal Verbs that include dynamic postpositions (like down, in, out, up, etc.) are less likely to be stative.
- Verbs of Spatial Position: face, lie, rest, sit, stand, surround
- Verbs of Principle: face, represent, stand against, stand for
Applications
There’s no distinct grammar topic known for using Stative Verbs. We can use and find Stative Verbs in so many areas! On the contrary, there are a couple topics for which Stative Verbs generally should not apply.
Continuous Tenses
Stative Verbs are perhaps best known for their exclusion from Continuous tenses. Continuous tenses employ the Active Participle (the -ing form). The Active Participle applies almost exclusively to Action Verbs and Light Verbs. Since Stative Verbs do not convey actions, it makes little sense for them to take on the Active Participle.
When Stative Verbs are used, the tense should be expressed in its non-Continuous counterpart (eg: Past Simple instead of Past Continuous, or Present Perfect instead of Present Perfect Continuous).
Keep in mind that some words have multiple definitions, some of which may be stative while others are active. The word ‘think’ is a Stative Verb when expressing an opinion or belief, like, “I think the answer is 42.” But it might be considered an Action Verb when expressing a mental process, as in “I’m still thinking about that question.” Notice how the second example is in a Continuous tense.
Similarly, dynamic Linking Verbs like act, become, get, grow, and turn may be used with Continuous tenses, as in “she is growing impatient”.
Passive Voice
It’s also rare to see Stative Verbs used for the Passive Voice. The Passive Voice is typically used for Action Verbs that happen to the subject. We generally don’t refer to states as happening to something else, though we do have Patientive Verbs that communicate something to that extent. While there are certainly exceptions, Stative Verbs in the Passive Voice are not very common.
Habits
There are multiple ways to communicate habits, but not all of them work for Stative Verbs. In particular, will (for present habits) and would (for past habits) only work for Action Verbs (or Light Verbs).
There are other ways to indicate habits for Stative Verbs, as with Used To (for past), or with Adverbs of Frequency accompanying simple tenses.
Imperatives & Causatives
Stative Verbs typically shouldn’t be the main verb of imperative clauses. It’s hard to imagine someone giving a command like: “Resemble this!”, “Cost less!”, “Ache!”, “Prefer that!”, “Owe me!”, “Deserve better!”, etc. and meaning it. These are unrealistic demands since the subject cannot choose or initiate these verbs; they simply are the case, or they are not.
Note that since some verbs might be stative for some meanings but action for other meanings, we might use their Action Verb correlates for Imperatives. For instance, you could prompt someone to “Feel this carpet,” but not to “Feel relaxed.”
For a similar reason, we typically don’t use Stative Verbs in a Causative structure. It’s unlikely that “They forced us to desire pizza,” or “I got the shirt to cost only $15,” would be viable sentences.
Teaching Tips
Demonstrations
As a rule-of-thumb, a verb is probably not a Stative Verb if it can be clearly acted out. Ask a student to mime the verbs ‘cost’, ‘seems’, ‘want’, or ‘understand’. While they might be able to use charades to get others to guess the correct verb eventually, there is no action that directly communicates these words. There’s a big difference between these and more concrete words like ‘jump’ or ‘speak’. So while someone should be able to act out ‘purchase’ or ‘hold’, we can’t quite act out ‘own’.
Definitions
Remember that many verbs have multiple definitions. Sometimes these definitions are only slightly different from one another, but that difference may be enough to make it a Stative Verb in one instance and an Action Verb in another instance. Consider our ‘think’ example above.
A verb is unlikely to be universally stative; it almost always depends on its application.
Further Reading
| Related Concepts | Applied Grammar Topics |
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