English Verbs

English Verbs

Complete with the correct present continous form of the verb. Could also have to use negative form.

• Gordon? I think he..... (write) a letter at the moment

• Yes, the match is on the TV now, but we ...(lose).

• Right now, Margaret ...(have) a shower. Do you want to ring later?

• Sally ....(stay) with her aunt for a few days.

• I... (lie)! It's true! I did see Madonna at the supermarket

• Josh.... (always/use) my bike! It's so annoying.

Complete with the correct present continous form of the verb. Could also have to use negative form.

• We ...(have) lunch, but I can come round and help you later

• .... (you/play) music up there? It's really noisy!

Stative Verbs

Stative verbs often relate to:

-thoughts and opinions: agree, believe, doubt, guess, imagine

know, mean, recognize, remember, suspect, think,

-understand feelings and emotions: dislike, hate, like, love, prefer, want, wish

-senses and perceptions: 

appear, be, feel, hear, look, see, seem, smell, taste

-possession and measurement: belong, have, measure, own, possess, weigh.

Sometimes they can be both

Verbs that are sometimes stative. A number of verbs can refer to states or actions, depending on the context.

I think it's a good idea.

Wait a moment! I'm thinking.

The first sentence expresses an opinion. It is a mental state, so we use present simple. In the second example the speaker is actively processing thoughts about something. It is an action in progress, so we use present continuous.

Exercises

• I work/am working at the local library for the summer

• We don't go/ aren't going to the theater very often

• Stacy gets/ is getting ready for school, she can't come to the phone

• I read/ am reading a newspaper at least once a week.

• A good friend knows/ is knowing when you're upset with something

What verbs are in the incorrect tense?

One game I am loving is backgammon.You are throwing the dice and then you move your pieces around the board. It is seeming quite easy, but in fact you are needing to be quite careful. When your piece lands on one of the other person's pieces, you are taking it off the board and you send it back to the beginning.You are winning by getting all your pieces to the end and off the board. Some people are preferring chess, but I am not understanding that game. Right now, I wait to have a game with my brother. He does his homework. I usually win, so I think he doesn't want to play a game with me!' 

Are you? vs. Do you?

• Are you…?

• To ask someone about his identity. For example, Are you a vegetarian/Jewish/an artist?

  To ask someone what he’s doing at the present moment. For example, Are you writing/dreaming/typing?

  To ask someone about his identity (adjective). For example, Are you mad/serious/sick?

• used for enquiring or asking on a particiular ocassion, progressive actions or not routine activities 

Do you?

• Do you…? is used in the following situations:

  To ask someone what he generally does. For example, Do you smoke/drink/dance?

  To ask about the ownership/possession. For example, Do you have a cat?/Do you own that house? 

• used for enquiring or asking regular or routine activities 

• Do you feel okay? Are you okay?

Practice

• Paul is never late. He’s always starting work on time. 

• I must go now. It gets late. 

• Rachel is in New York right now. _______(She / stay) at the Park Hotel. 

• What.......(your father / do)?’ ‘He’s an architect.’