Home of English Grammar

Free Guide (Updated for 2024)

  • Home
  • Download Lessons
  • Grammar Rules
  • Online Exercises
  • Online Tools
    • Grammar Checker
    • Word Counter
  • Guides
  • Contact
You are here: Home / Style Guide / Verbs not used in progressive forms

Verbs not used in progressive forms

March 9, 2011 - pdf

Some verbs are not used in progressive forms.

  • I love you. (NOT I am loving you.)
  • I like this color. (NOT I am liking this color.)
  • I rang her up because I wanted to speak. (NOT I rang her up because I was wanting to speak.)

Many of these non-progressive verbs refer to states rather than actions.

Common non-progressive verbs

Here is a list of some common verbs which are not often used in progressive forms.

Believe, doubt, feel, imagine, know, dislike, love, hate, prefer, realize, recognize, remember, see, suppose, think, understand, want, wish, appear, hear, look, see, seem, smell, sound, taste, agree, deny, astonish, disagree, impress, mean, please, promise, satisfy, surprise, belong, concern, consist, depend, fit, involve, lack, matter, need, owe, own, possess, weigh etc.

Notes

Feel does not have a progressive form when it means ‘have an opinion’.

  • I feel you are making a mistake. (NOT I am feeling you are making a mistake.)

See does not have a progressive form when it means ‘understand’.

  • I see what you mean. (NOT I am seeing what you mean.)

Look does not have a progressive form when it means ‘seem’.

  • She looks like she is rich. (NOT She is looking like she is rich.)

Weigh does not have a progressive form when it means ‘have weight’.

  • He weighs 70 kilos. (NOT He is weighing 70 kilos.)
  • Share
  • Post
  • Share
  • Send
1,287,726 
656,071 

Check Your Grammar

GrammarCheck.net - Try online
Hint → Bookmark GrammarCheck for future use.

Latest Exercises

  • Explain vs. Tell November 30, 2023
  • Prefixes Exercise November 28, 2023
  • Gap Filling Grammar Exercise November 26, 2023
  • Relative Pronouns Exercise November 25, 2023
  • Infinitive vs. Ing Form November 22, 2023
  • Intermediate Level Grammar Exercise November 21, 2023
  • Determiners Quiz November 20, 2023
  • Irregular Verbs Exercise November 19, 2023
  • Phrasal Verbs With Bring November 18, 2023

Topics

  • Adjectives
  • Adverbs
  • Business Writing
  • Commas
  • Conjunctions
  • Creative Writing
  • Difference
  • Essay Writing
  • Exercises
  • Learning
  • Lessons
  • Nouns
  • Prepositions
  • Pronouns
  • Proofreading
  • Punctuation
  • Quiz
  • Spelling
  • Style Guide
  • Teaching
  • Terms
  • Verbs
  • Words
  • Writing

Quiz

  • Can you correct these 14 basic grammar mistakes?
  • What kind of writer are you?

Copyright © 2023 · EnglishGrammar.org
Disclaimer · Privacy Policy · Sitemap