Actions and States for intermediate learners
'I'm loving it!' or 'I love it!' Do you want to know which one of these famous advertisement mottos are correct? You got to learn about state and action verbs!
What Are State Verbs?
State verbs (also called stative verbs) usually refer to a permanent state or one that is unlikely to change.
We can categorize them into many groups:
- Verbs of thought and opinion
- Verbs of possession
- Verbs of sense and emotion
- Verbs of cognition
What Are Action Verbs?
Action verbs (also called active verbs) usually refer to actions we do (physically or mentally), things that happen, or processes. Most of them refer to activities or events which can begin and finish.
Kids were
They
Is There a Difference?
We cannot normally use state verbs in continuous forms.
Verbs That Can Be Both
Some verbs can be either active or stative depending on the context. The meaning of these verbs is then different. For example:
I
Someone had been
Mm! Something
I'm
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