Nicht vergessen: Regeln sind Leitlinien – sie sind nur selten absolut.

State Verbs and Temporary Actions – Exercises 1–25

State Verbs and Temporary Actions

Why some state verbs can be progressive

State verbs usually describe a condition, feeling, thought, possession, sense, or relationship. They are normally used in the simple form.

Some state verbs can be used in the progressive form when the meaning changes. The progressive form often shows a temporary action, temporary behaviour, active experience, or changing situation.

State Meaning Temporary / Action Meaning
I think you are right. = opinion I am thinking about the problem. = mental action now
The soup tastes good. = sense She is tasting the soup. = action now
I have a car. = possession I am having lunch. = eating / experiencing
He looks tired. = appearance He is looking at the photo. = action now
Common Mistakes:

❌ I am knowing the answer.
✅ I know the answer.

✅ I am thinking about the answer now.

❌ She is having a house.
✅ She has a house.

✅ She is having breakfast.
Score: 0 / 25

1. I ______ the answer. (State: knowledge)
a) know
b) am knowing [Ich kenne die Antwort.]

2. I ______ about your idea now. (Temporary mental action)
a) think
b) am thinking [Ich denke gerade über deine Idee nach.]

3. She ______ a small apartment. (State: possession)
a) has
b) is having [Sie hat eine kleine Wohnung.]

4. She ______ lunch with a client today. (Temporary action)
a) has
b) is having [Sie isst heute mit einem Kunden zu Mittag.]

5. This soup ______ delicious. (State: sense)
a) tastes
b) is tasting [Diese Suppe schmeckt köstlich.]

6. The chef ______ the soup now. (Temporary action)
a) tastes
b) is tasting [Der Koch probiert gerade die Suppe.]

7. He ______ tired today. (State: appearance)
a) looks
b) is looking [Er sieht heute müde aus.]

8. He ______ at the timetable. (Temporary action)
a) looks
b) is looking [Er schaut gerade auf den Fahrplan.]

9. I ______ this perfume. (State: sense)
a) smell
b) am smelling [Ich rieche dieses Parfüm.]

10. She ______ the flowers. (Temporary action)
a) smells
b) is smelling [Sie riecht gerade an den Blumen.]

11. I ______ you are right. (State: opinion)
a) think
b) am thinking [Ich denke, dass du recht hast.]

12. We ______ about moving to a new office. (Temporary mental action)
a) think
b) are thinking [Wir denken darüber nach, in ein neues Büro umzuziehen.]

13. The company ______ three factories. (State: possession)
a) owns
b) is owning [Das Unternehmen besitzt drei Fabriken.]

14. They ______ a meeting with the bank today. (Temporary event)
a) have
b) are having [Sie haben heute ein Treffen mit der Bank.]

15. This cake ______ too sweet. (State: sense)
a) tastes
b) is tasting [Dieser Kuchen schmeckt zu süß.]

16. The children ______ very noisy today. (Temporary behaviour)
a) are
b) are being [Die Kinder sind heute sehr laut.]

17. He ______ usually very polite. (State: character)
a) is
b) is being [Er ist normalerweise sehr höflich.]

18. She ______ very careful today. (Temporary behaviour)
a) is
b) is being [Sie ist heute sehr vorsichtig.]

19. This bag ______ my laptop. (State: possession)
a) contains
b) is containing [Diese Tasche enthält meinen Laptop.]

20. She ______ the material for quality. (Temporary action)
a) feels
b) is feeling [Sie fühlt gerade das Material, um die Qualität zu prüfen.]

21. The material ______ soft. (State: sense)
a) feels
b) is feeling [Das Material fühlt sich weich an.]

22. I ______ what you mean. (State: understanding)
a) am seeing
b) see [Ich verstehe, was du meinst.]

23. She ______ the doctor this afternoon. (Temporary arrangement)
a) is seeing
b) sees [Sie hat heute Nachmittag einen Arzttermin.]

24. I ______ the music from here. (State: sense)
a) am hearing
b) hear [Ich höre die Musik von hier aus.]

25. We ______ a strange noise from the machine today. (Temporary experience)
a) are hearing
b) hear [Wir hören heute ein seltsames Geräusch von der Maschine.]