Stative Verbs
Learn how to use the stative verbs in English.
Special Lesson Activities for This Grammar Point
Stative Verbs
Point 1:
Stative verbs express feelings and opinions.
They are followed by an adjective.
- The party sounds fun.
- This soup smells delicious.
- This test sounds hard.
- This pasta tastes great!
- She feels sad today!
Point 2:
Stative verbs use verbs about the five senses:
touch, sight, taste, smell, and sound.
- That sounds difficult.
- This book looks interesting.
- He feels better now.
- This pizza tastes terrible.
- This milk smells old.
Point 3:
Stative verbs are special because the object is
an adjective, not a noun or pronoun as with
transitive verbs.
- (A) Can you make vegetable curry? (Transitive)
- (B) No, it looks difficult. (Stative)
- (B) But, I eat it all the time. (Transitive)
- (A) Yeah, it smells and tastes great. (Stative)
- (A) I can teach you how to make it. (Transitive)
- (B) Awesome! That sound fun! (Stative)
Point 4:
Stative verbs look and sound often show a prediction for a
future opinion about something.
- This test sounds hard.
- I think this test will be hard.
- The movie sounds interesting.
- I think the movie will be interesting.
- This soup looks good.
- I think this soup will be delicious.
Point 5:
Stative verbs often can be replaced with a be verb and keep the same meaning.
- This record sounds old.
- This record is old.
- I feel sick.
- I am sick.
- This soup tastes delicious.
- This soup is delicious.
Answer the following questions about the interview.
About the Teacher
My name is Todd Beuckens and I am an ESL teacher in Thailand. I created this site to provide teachers and students free audio lessons and learning materials not usually found in commercial textbooks.