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

State Verbs – Simple vs Progressive 3

State Verbs – Simple vs Progressive

Changing Meaning in the Progressive

State verbs normally describe conditions, feelings, possession, opinions, senses, or relationships. For this reason, they are usually used in the simple form.

However, some state verbs can be used in the progressive form when the meaning changes to:

  • a temporary situation
  • an action happening now
  • a developing process
  • temporary behaviour
  • strong emotional emphasis
Simple Form Progressive Form Meaning
I think it is good. I am thinking about it. Opinion vs mental process
She has a car. She is having dinner. Possession vs temporary activity
I see your problem. I am seeing a doctor tomorrow. Understanding vs appointment
The cake tastes sweet. The chef is tasting the cake. Quality vs action now
Important:

Some state verbs are almost never progressive: know, believe, own, belong, understand.

Other verbs can use both forms: think, feel, have, see, smell, taste, look, be.
Score: 0 / 25

1. I ______ your suggestion is correct. (Opinion)
a) think
b) am thinking [Ich denke, dass dein Vorschlag richtig ist.]

2. We ______ about the future of the company. (Mental process now)
a) think
b) are thinking [Wir denken gerade über die Zukunft der Firma nach.]

3. She ______ two brothers. (Possession)
a) has
b) is having [Sie hat zwei Brüder.]

4. They ______ a great time at the party. (Temporary experience)
a) have
b) are having [Sie haben gerade viel Spaß auf der Party.]

5. The soup ______ salty. (General taste)
a) tastes
b) is tasting [Die Suppe schmeckt salzig.]

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

7. He ______ angry today. (Temporary behaviour)
a) is
b) is being [Er ist heute ärgerlich.]

8. He ______ very calm normally. (General character)
a) is
b) is being [Er ist normalerweise sehr ruhig.]

9. I ______ your point now. (Understanding)
a) see
b) am seeing [Ich verstehe jetzt deinen Standpunkt.]

10. She ______ a specialist tomorrow morning. (Appointment)
a) sees
b) is seeing [Sie hat morgen früh einen Termin bei einem Spezialisten.]

11. This perfume ______ wonderful. (General smell)
a) smells
b) is smelling [Dieses Parfüm riecht wunderbar.]

12. She ______ the perfume carefully. (Action now)
a) smells
b) is smelling [Sie riecht gerade vorsichtig an dem Parfüm.]

13. I ______ tired after work. (State)
a) feel
b) am feeling [Ich fühle mich nach der Arbeit müde.]

14. The doctor ______ my leg right now. (Physical action)
a) feels
b) is feeling [Der Arzt untersucht gerade mein Bein.]

15. We ______ this restaurant. (Emotion)
a) love
b) are loving [Wir lieben dieses Restaurant.]

16. We ______ this trip so much! (Strong temporary enjoyment)
a) love
b) are loving [Wir genießen diese Reise gerade total!]

17. The machine ______ strange today. (Appearance)
a) looks
b) is looking [Die Maschine sieht heute seltsam aus.]

18. The engineer ______ at the machine carefully. (Action)
a) looks
b) is looking [Der Ingenieur schaut sich die Maschine gerade genau an.]

19. I ______ the answer now. (Understanding)
a) know
b) am knowing [Ich kenne jetzt die Antwort.]

20. We ______ many improvements this year. (Developing situation)
a) see
b) are seeing [Wir erleben dieses Jahr viele Verbesserungen.]

21. This material ______ soft. (General feeling)
a) feels
b) is feeling [Dieses Material fühlt sich weich an.]

22. She ______ the fabric to check the quality. (Action now)
a) feels
b) is feeling [Sie fühlt gerade den Stoff, um die Qualität zu prüfen.]

23. The answer ______ obvious. (Appearance)
a) seems
b) is seeming [Die Antwort scheint offensichtlich zu sein.]

24. They ______ about moving abroad lately. (Temporary process)
a) think
b) are thinking [Sie denken in letzter Zeit darüber nach, ins Ausland zu ziehen.]

25. We ______ more customer complaints this month. (Developing situation)
a) are hearing
b) hear [Wir hören diesen Monat mehr Kundenbeschwerden.]