Stative verbs

The principles

What are stative verbs?

Stative verbs describe (relatively) fixed emotional or mental states, as well as the senses and states of being and belonging. These states usually do not change easily. The following sentences all contain stative verbs:

That sounds great.
That looks dangerous.
My boss is French.
I have too many responsibilities.
I hate deadlines.
I doubt that.
This report contains numerous errors.
I need your opinion on this.

Which verbs are stative verbs?

Here are some stative verbs that you will come across often in business contexts:

Emotional/ mental states

agree   believe   feel*   guess*   hate   imagine   intend   know   like   love   mean   need   prefer   promise   realize   remember   require   suppose   think*   understand   want   wish

Verbs of the senses

feel*   hear   look*   recognize   see*   seem   smell*   sound

States of being and belonging

be*   belong   concern   consist   cost   contain   depend   deserve   fit   have*   include   involve   measure*   need   owe   own   weigh*

* Verbs marked with an asterisk can be both stative and non-stative, depending on the context (see next page)