Dynamic vs. Stative verbs.

Dynamic verbs do what it says on the tin, there is usually some sort of action. Stative aka state verbs are verbs of

  • the mind/thinking (agree, believe, know, remember etc)
  • emotion (detest, like, love*, prefer, wish)
  • possession and state (belong, contain,mean, own)
  • senses (hear, feel**, see**, be**, taste**)

*Didn’t a famous burger restaurant chain have the tagline ‚“I’m lovin‘ it“? I guess in this sense the ad writer (who probably doesn’t even really give a shit about grammatical rules anyway) turned the stative into a dynamic verb to express just how much one is enjoying biting into that freshly made burger (left on the counter only 10 minutes ago!!) with the amazing tasting sause squirting out of every angle and cover your fingers, jacket, trousers and half of the restaurant.

**These bad boy can definitely be both depending on the meaning. For a full list of all the static verbs and example for the above bad boys, take a trip to https://www.perfect-english-grammar.com/stative-verbs.html and download their free PDF.

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