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

State Verbs – Simple vs Progressive 2

State Verbs – Simple vs Progressive

Temporary Meaning and Changing Meaning

Most state verbs describe conditions, feelings, thoughts, senses, or possession. Because they describe a state and not an action, they are usually used in the simple form.

Some state verbs can also be used in the progressive form when the speaker wants to show:

  • a temporary activity
  • a changing situation
  • active involvement
  • special emphasis
  • temporary behaviour
Simple Form Progressive Form Meaning Difference
I have a car. I am having coffee. Possession vs temporary activity
I see your problem. I am seeing a lawyer tomorrow. Understanding vs appointment
The soup smells good. She is smelling the soup. Quality vs action
He is polite. He is being polite today. General character vs temporary behaviour
Remember:

Some verbs rarely use the progressive form: know, believe, own, understand, belong.

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

1. I ______ what you are saying. (Understanding)
a) understand
b) am understanding [Ich verstehe, was du sagst.]

2. We ______ about buying a new house. (Temporary mental process)
a) think
b) are thinking [Wir denken darüber nach, ein neues Haus zu kaufen.]

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

4. They ______ breakfast in the garden. (Temporary activity)
a) have
b) are having [Sie frühstücken gerade im Garten.]

5. The coffee ______ strong. (General quality)
a) tastes
b) is tasting [Der Kaffee schmeckt stark.]

6. The waiter ______ the wine now. (Action)
a) tastes
b) is tasting [Der Kellner probiert gerade den Wein.]

7. He ______ very friendly. (General character)
a) is
b) is being [Er ist sehr freundlich.]

8. He ______ unusually quiet today. (Temporary behaviour)
a) is
b) is being [Er ist heute ungewöhnlich still.]

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

10. She ______ the dentist tomorrow morning. (Arrangement)
a) sees
b) is seeing [Sie hat morgen früh einen Zahnarzttermin.]

11. This flower ______ wonderful. (General smell)
a) smells
b) is smelling [Diese Blume riecht wunderbar.]

12. The child ______ the flowers carefully. (Action)
a) smells
b) is smelling [Das Kind riecht gerade vorsichtig an den Blumen.]

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

14. The doctor ______ my shoulder now. (Physical action)
a) feels
b) is feeling [Der Arzt untersucht gerade meine Schulter.]

15. We ______ this hotel very much. (Emotion)
a) love
b) are loving [Wir lieben dieses Hotel sehr.]

16. We ______ our holiday this year! (Strong temporary enjoyment)
a) love
b) are loving [Wir genießen unseren Urlaub dieses Jahr total!]

17. The manager ______ very professional. (General character)
a) is
b) is being [Der Manager ist sehr professionell.]

18. The manager ______ difficult today. (Temporary behaviour)
a) is
b) is being [Der Manager ist heute schwierig.]

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

20. We ______ more customers this month. (Developing situation)
a) see
b) are seeing [Wir erleben diesen Monat mehr Kunden.]

21. I ______ the difference now. (Understanding)
a) understand
b) am understanding [Ich verstehe jetzt den Unterschied.]

22. They ______ about changing the design. (Temporary process)
a) think
b) are thinking [Sie denken darüber nach, das Design zu ändern.]

23. The cake ______ delicious. (General quality)
a) tastes
b) is tasting [Der Kuchen schmeckt köstlich.]

24. The chef ______ the sauce now. (Action)
a) tastes
b) is tasting [Der Koch probiert gerade die Soße.]

25. We ______ many changes in the company lately. (Developing situation)
a) are seeing
b) see [Wir erleben in letzter Zeit viele Veränderungen im Unternehmen.]