Stative Verbs are that show a state or condition and not an action. These verbs are not used in the progressive form or continuous form (ING), like present progressive or future progressive.

ExamplesExamples of sentences with stative verbs:

*I am tired. Estoy cansado*I have two children. Tengo dos hijos*I like the color blue. Me gusta el color azul*I think they want something to eat. Creo que quieren algo de comer*The box contains six bottles. La caja contiene seis botellas

In Stative Verbs are included:

1.- Verbs describing a state or states of mind like opinion, doubt, agree or disagree: agree, think, believe, disagree, feel, doubt, depend, understand, know, mean, remember, etc.

Ej: -Joan feels sick. Joan se siente enferma.-Jack is very excited. Jack está muy emocionado.-Mary feels good. Mary se siente bien.-I am very happy. Yo estoy muy contenta.

2-Verbs that describe tastes, preferences or emotions:

like, dislike, prefer, love, hate, etc.

Ej: -  I don´t like the carrots. No me gustan las zanahorias.-I  love ice cream. Me encanta el helado.-I don´t like cheese. No me gusta el queso.-I love westerns. Me encantan las películas del oeste.

3.- Verbs related to the possession or ownership:

have, possess, belong, own, owe, lack, include, involve, etc.

Ej: -That pencil belongs to Mary. Este lápiz pertenece a Mary.-I don´t understand what he said. No entendí lo que él dijo.-That house belongs to the Murphys. Esta casa pertenece a los Murphys.-I don´t understand her accent. No entiendo su acento.

4.- Verbs that describe the weight, size, content or characteristics of something:

weigh, measure, consist, contain, etc.

Ej: -The suitcase weighs 20kg and contains only shoes. La maleta pesa 20kg y contiene solo zapatos.- The parcel weighs 3kg and contains 6 video games. El paquete pesa 3kg y contine 6 videojuegos.

5.- Verbs expressing desire or need:

want, wish, need, deserve, etc.

Ej: -I wish you where here. Desearía que estuvieras aquí.-I want an ice cream. Quiero un helado.6.- Verbs related to perception and the senses:

sound, hear, taste, see, smell,  imagine, recognize, satisfy, etc.

Ej: - The soup smells good. La sopa huele bien. -The lotion smells good. La loción huele bien.

Some verbs can be both stative and dynamic:*Be: be is usually a stative verb, but when it is used in the continuous it means ‘behaving’ or ‘acting’-She is funny. Ella es divertida.-She is being very funny. Ella está siendo muy divertida.

In the first sentence is "funny" describes a characteristic of the person(stative), while the second speaks of a behavior in a given time (dynamic).

*Have: -I have a car. Tengo un coche.-Are you having a good time? ¿Lo estás pasando bien? In the first example "have" indicates possession while in the second part of the expression "to have a good time" that has nothing to do with possession.

*See : -I see what you mean. Entiendo lo que quieres decir.-I´ve been seing my girlfriend since last August. He estado viendo a mi novia desde agosto del año pasado.See: can mean see or understand  (stative) and meet someone or have a relationship (dynamic).

*Taste (smell): -The food tastes good. La comida sabe bien.-The cook is tasting the food. El cocinero está probando la comida.We can say that something has a particular taste or smell (stative), and also talk about the action of taste or smell (dynamic).

Stative Verb ListLike Deserv

e Be Conc

ernPlease

Love Lack Involve

Have Promise

Hate Owe Belong

Include

Imagine

Want Know Fit Possess

Deny

Need Realise Contain

Think Impress

Prefer Suppose

Consist

Measure

Surprise

Agree Mean Seem

Weigh

Feel

Mind Understand

Depend

Satisfy

Disagree

Own Believe

Matter

Doubt

Appear

Sound Remember

See Wish Smell

Hear Recognise

Look Dislike

Taste

End