State verbs

There are some verbs which we do not usually use in continuous tenses. These verbs tend to refer to:

·         existence: be, exist

·         mental states: believe, doubt, know, realise, recognise, suppose, think, understand

·         wants and likes: want, like, love, hate, need, prefer

·         possession: belong, have, possess, own

·         senses: feel, smell, taste

·         appearance: appear, look, seem

Note that some meanings of these verbs do accept continuous forms.