Stative verbs with difference in meaning
| · I can’t see anything . | · She’s seeing a lawyer tonight. (seeing) |
| · I see exactly what you mean. (understand) | |
| · Peter thinks he knows everything (believes) | · He is thinking of studying law (considering) |
| · They have a villa in Portugal.( own) | · He is having problems (experiencing) |
| · A baby’s skin feels very smooth.( It has a smooth texture). I feel (think) I’m wrong. How do you feel? | · He is feeling the engine to see how hot it is (touching). How are you feeling? |
| · This soup tastes of garlic (it has the taste of garlic-(чеснок) | · Why are you tasting the jam? (Testing the flavour) |
| · The room smells of fresh flowers. (it has the smell of) | · Why are you smelling that meat? (Why are you checking its smell?) |
| · Most people love/enjoy eating out (They like in general) | · She is loving/enjoying every minute of her holiday. (She likes specifically) |
| · Peter is a difficult person to get on with. (His character is difficult) | · Jane is being particularly generous this week. (She is behaving generously this week only) |
| · He looks as if he’s going to faint (обморок). (He appears) | · They are looking at the photos (viewing) |
| · The patient appearsto be recovering (He seems to be) | · John Red is appearing in a new film/play soon.( takes part as an actor) |
| · Sam now weighs more than his father (his weight is more) | · The doctor is weighing the baby (finding out his weight). |
| · My uniform doesn’t fit me.(isn’t the right size) | · We are fitting a new kitchen next week (installing) |
| · I can’t hear you. | · This court is hearing evidence this morning. |
| · I expect him to come soon. | · She’s expecting a baby. |
Note: some stative verbs can be used in the continuous to denote short periods of time:
| Permanent State (Simple ) | Short Period (Continuous) |
| I love/enjoy parties | I’m loving/enjoying this party |
| I like school. | I’m liking school much better now. |
| Holidays cost a lot of money. | This trip is costing me a lot of money. |
FORMS TO EXPRESS FUTURE
| For a time expression for a definite future arrangement (smth connected with the time-table) In conditional clauses | The boys start school on Monday. The train leaves at 6. If you don’t apologize, I’ll never speak to you. |
| To express a definite arrangement in the near future | I’m taking an exam in October. |
| For intention or prediction в значении «собираться» | He is going to move to his new house. |