UNIT THREE Non-Action Verbs
Grammar Explanations
1. Many verbs describe states or situations instead of actions. These verbs are called
non-action verbs (or stative verbs).
Most non-action verbs are not usually used in the present progressive even when they
describe a situation that is happening right now.
Examples:

John has a boat.
(The verb has describes John’s situation, not something he is doing.)

He wants fish for dinner.
NOT He is wanting fish for dinner.
2. Non-action verbs are usually verbs that:
a. describe a state of being
(be, feel)
b. express emotions
( hate, like, love)
c. describe mental states
( know, remember, believe, think [=believe],
suppose, understating)
d. show possession
( have, own, possess, belong)
e. describe perceptions and senses
( hear, see, smell, taste, feel, notice, seem, look[=seem],appear, sound)
f. describe needs and preferences
( need, want, prefer)
g. describe measurement
( weigh, cost, contain)
Examples:
 Jane is tired but happy.
 She feels good.
A: Do you like my new dress?
B: I love it!
 I know a lot of good recipes.
 Ari remembers your number.
I think you’re right.
 Cesar has a headache.
 Some students own microwaves.

I hear the telephone.
 Dina seems tired.
 I need a pen.
 How much does it cost?
3. BE CAREFUL!Some verbs can have non-action and action meanings(taste, smell, feel,
look, think, have, weigh.)
Examples
NON-ACTION

I taste garlic. Did you put some in here?
(I notice garlic.)

The soup tastes good. Try some.
(The soup is good.)
ACTION

I’m tasting the soup to see if it needs more salt.
(I’m trying the soups.)
1. IDENTITY Read this conversation. Underline all non-action verbs that describe
a situation that is in progress.Circle all non-action verbs that describe a situation
that is generally true.
ALINE: This steak tastes delicious. Your salmon looks good too.
BEN: Here , I’m putting some on your plate. I think you’ll like it.
ALINE: Mmm. I like it. Funny, I usually don’k like fish.
BEN: Red has that effect on people.
ALINE: I have no idea what you’re talking about. What do you mean?
BEN: Well, colors can change the way we feel. For example, people often feel hungrier
in a red room. I notice that you’re looking right at the red wallpaper.
ALINE: And I certainly feel hungry right now. I’m eating half your salmon.
BEN: That’s OK. I’m tasting your steak.
2. CHOOSE Complete this magazine article with the correct from of the verbs in
parentheses.
Lenny Kramer is in a sports store. He ___________flowers, but he isn’t really paying
attention to the aroma very much because he ___________at a pair of running shoes.
They ____________a lot more than he usually pays, but Lenny really, __________
those shoes .he’s the victim of “smart scents,” aromas that stores use to make customers
buy more.
Across town, Lenny’s daughter Myra is taking a history test in a classroom that was
recently painted yellow. Although Myra ____________history, she ____________to be
doing well on this test. She ____________the new color of her classroom. She _______
____that it’s helping her on the test, but it is. Scientists have shown that yellow
improves both memory and concentration.
We now ____________that odors, colors, and sounds affect our moods and even our
health. In fact, right now Lenny’s wife, Cindy, ____________about Lenny and Myra.
She’s sure that Lenny is spending too much on shoes and that Myra is failing another
history test. Cindy suffers from migraine headaches, but she ____________a headache
today. She’s in the garden, and she ____________birds and insect sounds. They always
her down.
3. COMPLETE Read this conversation. Complete it with the correct form of the
verbs in parentheses. Use the present progressive or the simple present tense.
A: Hi, Ana. Mmm. Something ____________good! What’s cooking?
B: Fish soup. I ____________it to see if it ____________more garlic. ___________you
____________to try it?
A:Mmmm. It ____________good, but I ____________it needs salt.
B:OK. I ____________about adding canned tomatoes too, even though it ___________
in the recipe.
A:That ____________ like a good idea. But wait a minute. I ____________ at the recipe,
and it says you can add milk. How about that?
B: I ____________if the milk ____________fresh.
A: I’ll check. Hmm. I ____________it, but I ____________sure. Let’s add the tomatoes
instead.
B: OK. I ____________cooking! The whole house ____________great when you cook.
And it always puts me in a good mood.
A: I ____________what you ____________. I____________ the same way.
4. EDIT Read this journal entry. There are eight mistakes in the use of action and
non-action verbs. Find and correct them. The first mistake is already corrected.
Much is
Not a good day! I feel kind of depressed and I’m needing to do something right away to
change my mood and get rid of this pain. Last week, I read an article about how smell
can affect mood and even health, so right now I small an orange (for the depression) and
a green apple (for the headache). They smell nice, but I’m not thinking that I notice a
difference in how I feel! I think I’m prefer to eat something when I feel down. But I
worry that I’m weighing too much. So, at the moment I have a cup of peppermint tea
with lemon. The article says that the peppermint smell helps you eat less. Well, I don’t
know about that! A chocolate ice cream sundae sounds pretty good right about now! It’s
seeming that there are no easy solutions.