Stative vs. Action Verbs

Vocabulary flashcards reviewing stative verbs, dynamic action verbs, categories of stative verbs, and verbs with dual stative/action meanings.

Stative verbs

Verbs that describe states, opinions, emotions, senses, or possession, which are usually only used in simple tenses rather than continuous tenses.

Action verbs

Dynamic verbs that relate to actions (such as kick, swim, choose, buy, leave) and can be used in both simple and continuous tenses.

Thoughts and opinions verbs

A category of stative verbs including agree, believe, doubt, guess, imagine, know, mean, recognise, remember, suspect, think, and understand.

Feelings and emotions verbs

A category of stative verbs including dislike, hate, like, love, prefer, want, and wish.

Senses and perceptions verbs

A category of stative verbs including appear, be, feel, hear, look, see, seem, smell, and taste.

Possession and measurement verbs

A category of stative verbs including belong, have, measure, own, possess, and weigh.

Be (stative sense)

Expresses a permanent fact or a character trait (e.g., "He is immature").

Be (action sense)

Expresses a temporary emotional state or behavior (e.g., "He is being immature").

Have (stative sense)

Expresses possession, ownership, or belonging (e.g., "I have a car", "He has a dog").

Have (action sense)

Used in activity expressions such as eating, experiencing, or organizing (e.g., "having breakfast", "having fun", "having a party").

See (stative sense)

Refers to physical perception using one's eyes or to understanding (e.g., "I see some birds", "I see what you mean").

See (action sense)

Refers to meeting someone or being in a romantic relationship / dating (e.g., "seeing the doctor", "seeing each other").

Look (stative sense)

Describes appearance (e.g., "That cake looks delicious!", "He looks handsome").

Look (action sense)

Refers to actively directing one's eyes toward something, or used in phrasal verbs like "look for" and "look after".

Look for

A phrasal verb meaning to seek or search for something (e.g., "looking for a job").

Look after

A phrasal verb meaning to take care of someone or something (e.g., "looking after my dog").

Smell / Taste (stative sense)

Describes the inherent quality of smell or taste possessed by an item (e.g., "The bar smells of smoke", "This meat tastes like chicken").

Smell / Taste (action sense)

Refers to a person actively using their nose or mouth to test something (e.g., "He’s smelling the cookies", "She’s tasting the soup").

Think / Feel (stative sense)

Refers to expressing an opinion (e.g., "I think that’s a great idea!", "I feel that this is not the best use of our time").

Think / Feel (action sense)

Refers to using one's mind to reflect, or experiencing emotional states or health problems (e.g., "thinking about moving", "feeling unusually tired").

Weigh / Measure (stative sense)

Describes the inherent dimension or weight possessed by an object (e.g., "The suitcase weighs 20 pounds", "The surfboard measures 2 meters").

Weigh / Measure (action sense)

Refers to a person physically performing the action of measuring or finding the weight of something (e.g., "The butcher is weighing the meat").