State and Performative Verbs
State (stative) verbs can be defined as those which describe the following:
- thoughts and opinions;
- feelings and emotions;
- senses and perceptions;
- possession and measurement.
As opposed to dynamic verbs, they do not describe actions.
Performative verbs are used to describe the action which they perform.
There are particular rules regarding state and performative verbs and whether or not they can only be used with simple tenses. These rules can often confuse learners of English. This page is designed to teach you when to use them in simple only and when it is possible to use them in the continuous.
In the following exercise, choose which tense is correct. If you think both are possible, select both. Each example includes feedback explaining the rules and has further examples.
Using what you’ve learnt in the exercises above, fill the gaps in the following with the correct tense using the verbs in the boxes above each. Sometimes, more than one answer is possible and you may need to use a negative or question form.
cost / think / expect / weigh / feel
suggest / like / consider / doubt / sound