Stative (State) Verbs in the Continuous Form

Some verbs used in the simple form can be used in the continuous form as well. That's typically when they have an active meaning or emphasize change.

Often these sentences may have a bit different meaning:

Verb Form	Verb	Example	Meaning
Simple	to think	I think you should see a doctor	opinion
Continuous	to be thinking	I'm thinking of changing my flat	trying to reach a decision
Simple	to love	I love going to the cinema	feeling
Continuous	to be loving	I'm loving it (Mc Donald's slogan)	emphasis
Simple	to smell	I smell something burning	sense
Continuous	to be smelling	My baby was smelling a flower	activity
Simple	to have	He's really rich — he has 3 cars	possession
Continuous	to be having	When you called me, I was having a nice bath	activity
Simple	to see	I can see you have a big garden	sense
Continuous	to be seeing	I'm seeing him later	appointment
Simple	to taste	I could taste a lot of sugar in the wine	sense
Continuous	to be tasting	He was tasting the cake and said it was OK	activity

Keep in mind there is a group of verbs that can be used in both the continuous and simple forms with no difference. These are: e.g. hurt, feel:

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