List of stative verbs
(English verbs that cannot appear in the ing form)
Which verbs are stative in English?
The following list shows the most common stative verbs (or state verbs), which do not appear in the ing form according to the rule. Some of the verbs have a change in meaning depending on how they are used, as listed under state (stative) verbs.
List of verbs without ing usage
| Stative verb | Example sentence |
|---|---|
| agree | We agree on this matter. |
| be | She is here. |
| believe | I believe you. |
| belong | This car belongs to Hanna. |
| care | I don’t care. |
| consist | The exam consists of three parts. |
| contain | Milk contains natural sugar. |
| depend | That depends on the weather. |
| dislike | I dislike tomatoes. |
| fear | We fear to be hit by the storm again. |
| fit | These trousers fit very well. |
| feel (→ info¹) | How do you feel about the situation? |
| hate | I hate traffic. |
| have (→ info¹) | They have a big house. |
| hear | Do you hear that noise? |
| imagine | I imagine that the hike is very hard. |
| impress | Your comment doesn’t impress me much. |
| know | Jason knows all the answers. |
| like | Do you like Chinese food? |
| love | We love holidays. |
| matter | That doesn’t matter. |
| mean | That doesn’t mean anything bad. |
| need | Plants need water. |
| own | He owns an apartment in New York. |
| possess | Our professor possesses a lot of knowledge. |
| prefer | I definitely prefer coffee. |
| promise | I promise not to do it again. |
| reach | The car reaches a top speed of 300km/h. |
| realize | Don’t you realize that this is impossible? |
| recognize | We don’t recognize you anymore. |
| remember | Do you remember that day? |
| see (→ info¹) | We see what you mean. |
| seem | This task seems hard work. |
| smell | Something smells bad here. |
| suppose | I suppose you are not coming with us. |
| taste | The soup tastes delicious. |
| think (→ info¹) | She doesn’t think much of him. |
| understand | The students don’t understand the book. |
¹ Although these verbs are listed as state verbs here, they can also be used with difference in meaning as active verbs or dynamic verbs.
Further explanations related to the ‘English stative verbs’
The following explanations relate to the topic ‘List of state verbs’ and may help you too: