Stative and Dynamic Verbs

Dynamic Verbs versus Stative Verbs

For progressive tenses, English is divided into two groups of verbs: Dynamic and Stative.  

Dynamic verbs relate an action or a process. Common dynamic verbs are “to walk,” “to yell,” and “to read.” These verbs can be conjugated in progressive tenses, so it’s fine to say, “I will be walking all day” and “He was yelling at me.”

Stative verbs describe a state of being and are not supposed to be conjugated in progressive tenses. 

The About.com ESL site helpfully breaks stative verbs into four groups (1): 

• Verbs that show thought or opinion, such as “know” and “recognize” (I know her motives.)
• Verbs that show possession, such as “own” and “belong” (The dog belongs to me.)
• Verbs that show emotion, such as “love” and “need” (I love Squiggly) 
• Verbs that show senses, such as “feel” and “see” (I see what you mean). 

That last group is especially tricky because many of them can be stative or dynamic verbs depending on how you use them.

According to this division of verbs, you’re not allowed to say sentences such as “They are owning three cars” and “I am seeing the portrait.” Any native speaker will innately sense that those two sentences sound odd.

Also some verbs can be both dynamic and stative. For example, the verb “to be.” You can use "to be" in a progressive tense to mean “to behave,” as in “You are being naughty.” In this case, “to be” is being used as a dynamic verb. On the other hand, if you say, “She is a brunette,” “to be” is being used as a stative verb. You couldn’t say, “She is being a brunette.” 

Here's another example with the verb "think." You can say, “I think you’re cute,” which is stative, and “I’m thinking about going on vacation,” which is dynamic. 

But, there are idiomatic uses of stative verbs. You can conjugate certain stative verbs in a progressive tense in the right context. I can easily imagine one lady saying to another, “Hey, Jean. I’m loving that new haircut!” On the other hand, it wouldn’t sound right to say, “I’m loving my mother.” You’d say, “I love my mother.” Another example might be the verb “to hear.” This is considered a stative verb, yet native speakers will be familiar with the statement “I’m hearin’ ya” to mean “I understand your point of view.” However, no native speaker would say, “I’m hearing the concert.”

DYNAMIC VERBS
Activity Verbs I am begging you. I was learning French. They will be playing upstairs.. Virtually identical in meaning to simple tense forms: I beg you. I learned French. They will play upstairs.
abandon ask beg call drink	eat help learn listen look at	play rain read say slice	throw whisper work write
Process Verbs The corn is growing rapidly. Traffic is slowing down. Virtually identical in meaning to simple present tense forms: The corn grows rapidly. Traffic slows down.
change deteriorate	grow mature	slow down	widen
Verbs of Bodily Sensation "I feel bad" and "I am feeling bad" are virtually identical in meaning.
ache	feel	hurt	itch
Transitional Events Verbs Progressive forms indicate the beginning of an event, as opposed to the simple present tense. "She was falling out of bed [when I caught her]" as opposed to "She falls out of bed every night."
arrive die	fall land	leave	lose
Momentary Verbs Progressive forms indicate little duration and suggest repetition. She is hitting her brother. He is jumping around the house.
hit jump	kick knock	nod	tap

STATIVE VERBS
Verbs of Inert Perception and Cognition* I detest rutabaga, but not I am detesting rutabaga. I prefer cinnamon toast, but not I am preferring cinnamon toast.
abhor adore astonish believe desire detest dislike doubt feel forgive	guess hate hear imagine impress intend know like love mean	mind perceive please prefer presuppose realize recall recognize regard remember	satisfy see smell suppose taste think understand want wish
Relational Verbs I am sick, but not I am being sick. I own ten acres of land, but not I am owning ten acres. My brother owes me ten dollars" but not My brother is owing me ten dollars.
be* belong to concern consist of contain cost	depend on deserve equal fit have include	involve lack matter need owe own	possess require require resemble seem sound

http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/progressive.htm

Practice Quiz for Stative and Dynamic Verbs
http://web2.uvcs.uvic.ca/elc/studyzone/410/grammar/stat1.htm