ENGLISH

HU-100
Action Verbs, Stative verbs
(Non-Continuous Verbs),
and Mixed Verbs
State/stative Verbs
Refer to a state or condition that is static .These verbs cannot be normally used
with continuous tenses. Some of them, however, can be used with continuous
tenses with a change in meaning.
• I’m sorry, I don’t like it rather than I’m not liking it

• Stative Verbs are generally divided into three categories

relational verbs
perception verbs
cognition verbs

• Relational verbs are verbs that almost never form continuous forms.
• We say:
It belongs to me. not It is belonging to me or I deserve. not I am
deserving it.
• Here is a list of relational verbs:
• belong to concern consist of contain cost
depend on
deserve equal fit have include
involve
lack matter need owe own possess
require
resemble seem sound
e.g. Natalie pushed at Matthew, struggling to find equal place in mama's arms.
Mums thought the lack of good parenting was why Lara went wild.
Perception Verbs are verbs that can form a
continuous form but with the change in the regular
meaning.
Here is a list and a detailed description of the
perception verbs: smell taste see hear
smell
• She is smelling the roses. - The continuous form
expresses a voluntary action.
• They smell wonderful. - The simple form expresses
an involuntary action something that just happened
and cannot be controlled.
taste
• She is tasting the soup. - The continuous form
expresses a voluntary action.
• It tastes great. - The simple form expresses
involuntary action something that just happened and
cannot be controlled.
hear
• I hear you now.(You don't need to shout.) -
The simple form means I hear you with my
ears. (I'm perceiving)
• I am hearing some voices. - The continuous
form means a mental illness.
see
Cognition Verbs are verbs that may not form a continuous
tense at all or when they are used in a continuous form, their
regular meaning changes.
• Cognition Verbs that hardly ever form a continuous form:

abhor adore astonish believe desire detest

dislike doubt forgive hate imagine
impress intend know like love mean
mind perceive please prefer presuppose
realize recall recognize regard satisfy
suppose understand

• Here is a list of cognition verbs that form a continuous form

with a change in meaning:
feel think wish
have
Look carefully at these 2 sentences.

• He smells of fish.
• He’s smelling the fish.

• The second sentence is an action – not a state. The

man wants to know if the fish is OK to eat.

• I think we should go to Croatia for our holiday this year.

• Sorry, what did you say? I was thinking about my
holiday.

• The first sentence is an opinion but the second

sentence is an action.
Mixed Verbs
These verbs have more than one meaning. In a way, each
meaning is a unique verb. Some meanings behave like "Non-
Continuous Verbs," while other meanings behave like "Normal
Verbs."

• to appear, to feel, to have, to hear, to look, to see, to

weigh...

• Donna appears confused. ( Non-Continuous Verb. Donna

seems confused)

• My favourite singer is appearing at the jazz club tonight.

(Normal Verb My favourite singer is giving a performance at
the jazz club tonight.
• to see:
• I see her. Non-Continuous Verb I see her with my eyes.
• He is seeing ghosts at night. Normal Verb. He sees something others cannot see. For example
ghosts, a
vision of the future, etc.

• to smell:
• The coffee smells good. Non-Continuous Verb The coffee has a good smell.
• I am smelling the flowers. Normal Verb I am sniffing the flowers to see what their
smell is like.

• to taste:
The coffee tastes good. Non-Continuous Verb The coffee has a good taste.
• I am tasting the cake. Normal Verb I am trying the cake to see what it tastes
like.

• to think:
• He thinks the test is easy. Non-Continuous Verb He considers the test to be
easy.
• She is thinking about the question. Normal Verb She is pondering the question, going over it in
her mind.

• to weigh:
• The table weighs a lot. Non-Continuous Verb The table is heavy.
• She is weighing herself. Normal Verb She is determining her weight
to be:
• Joe is an American citizen.
• Joe is being very American. Normal Verb Joe is behaving like a stereotypical
American.
• Joe is being very rude. Normal Verb Joe is behaving very rudely.
Usually he is not rude.
• Joe is being very formal. Normal Verb Joe is behaving very formally.
Usually he is not formal.

NOTICE: Only rarely is "to be" used in a continuous form. This is most commonly
done when a person is temporarily behaving badly or stereotypically. It can also
be used when someone's behaviour is noticeably different.
to feel:
The massage feels great. Non-Continuous Verb The massage has a pleasing
feeling.
• I don't feel well today. Sometimes used as Non-Continuous Verb I am a little
sick.
• I am not feeling well today. Sometimes used as Normal Verb I am a little
sick.

• NOTICE: The second meaning of "feel" is very flexible and there is no real
difference in meaning between "I don't feel well today" and "I am not feeling
well today."
“Unfortunately the trend - to use stative verbs as
dynamic - is growing. In advertising, for example,
there is a lot of pressure to sound as dynamic as
possible. One famous chain of hamburger
restaurants has a very annoying slogan - "I'm
loving it." That's bad English and I for one won't
eat there any more!”
Mark Shea, author of the BBC College of
Journalism's online English tutor
EXERCISE :These verbs can be stative or dynamic. Fill in the verb in the
simple or progressive form in the right tense.
HAVE
a) What can I get you? – I ______________________ the barbecue sandwich.
b) _____________ you got a dog?
c) In 1999 they __________________ a lot of problems.
d) We _____________________ breakfast when the doorbell rang.

LOOK
a) Where is Emma? – She ____________________________ at your pictures.
b) Emma ______________________ very pretty today.
c) ___________________ at Emma’s prom picture. She ___________________ fantastic that
night.
d) When the little boy disappeared, the whole town ____________________ for him.
BE
a) I hate working with Josh; he _____________________ such an unreasonable person.
b) Josh, you ___________________________ unreasonable. We need to do this, there’s no
other way.
c) She didn’t know what was wrong with George. Usually, he _________________ such a
gentle person. But today, he ___________________ mean to everybody.
d) We ____________ exhausted when we arrived. After all, we ___________________ in the
car for five hours.
Verbals: Gerunds, Infinitives, and
Participles

• The three verbals— gerunds, infinitives, and

participles—are formed from verbs, but are
never used alone as action words in
sentences. Instead, verbals function as nouns,
adjectives, or adverbs. These verbals are
important in phrases.

• http://www.sdc.uwo.ca/writing/undergrads/han
douts_new/Participles.pdf
The gerund ends in -ing and functions as a
noun.
• Jumping is fun.
• She was fined for driving dangerously.
• He liked skiing.
• He had a unique way of whistling.
• The infinitive is the base form of a verb with to.
Usually it functions as a noun, although it can also
function as an adjective or adverb.

• To jump is fun. (noun; subject of the verb is)

• I like to ski. (noun; direct object of the verb

like)

• She had a suggestion to offer. (adjective

modifying suggestion)

• He called to warn her. (adverb modifying the

verb called)
• A participle is a verb that ends in -ing (present participle)
or -ed, -d, -t, -en, -n (past participle). Participles may
function as adjectives, describing or modifying nouns.

The dancing parrots entertained the crowd.

The burning log fell off the fire.
The crying baby had a wet diaper.

• But participles have another function. When used with

helping verbs such as to be and to have, they are action
verbs and form several verb tenses.

• She is taking care of the children.

• The conference room had been cleaned before they

arrived.
• In the sentences below, fill in the blanks with a present or
past participle, a gerund, or an infinitive.

1) The students were _________ (confuse) by the professor’s

lecture.
2) I would like ________ (buy) a new dress for graduation.
3) Babysitting young children can be _________ (exhaust) for
many people.
4) He wanted his mother ___________ (help) the neighbors
with their garden.
5) Jane needed help with ___________ (recover) her data.
6) The _________ (cry) baby annoyed everyone on the plane.
7) We do not have time _________ (discuss) this problem
now!
8) When Dan gets ________ (bore), he goes fishing.
Unit 2: Forms and Function of English
language
This section contains language functions and
forms that native English speakers acquire
mostly before entering school or naturally at
home.

These language functions and forms,

however, need to be explicitly taught to
English language learners (ELLs). They may
be taught to ELLs at all grade levels, and as
the need arises.
LANGUAGE FUNCTIONS and FORMS
The contrast between form and function in language can be
illustrated through a simple medical analogy. If doctors
studied only a limited portion of the human system, such as
anatomical form, they would be unable to adequately address
their patient’s needs. To fully treat their patients, physicians
must understand the purposes of the human body and
the relationships between organs, cells, and genes
(Pozzi, 2004).

Similarly, ELLs need to understand both the form (structure) and the
function (purpose) of the English language in order to reach higher levels
of proficiency.

Pozzi, D.C. (2004). Forms and functions in language:

Morphology, syntax. Retrieved March 10, 2005, from
University of Houston, College of Education
Forms of a language deal with the internal grammatical structure of
words. The relationship between boy and boys, for example, and the
relationship (irregular) between man and men would be forms of a
language.

A language function refers to the purpose for which speech or writing is

being used.
In oral discourse these include:
• giving instructions
• introducing ourselves
• making requests etc

In academic writing we use a range of specific functions in order to

communicate ideas clearly.
These include:
• describing processes
• comparing or contrasting things or ideas, and
• clarifying ideas etc