Stative Verbs

1. Verbs of Thinking & Opinion Know → (✅ I know him. ❌ I am knowing him.) Believe → (✅ She believes you. ❌ She is believing you.) Understand → (✅ I understand. ❌ I am understanding.) 2. Verbs of Possession Have (when it means possession) → (✅ I have a car. ❌ I am having a car.) Own → (✅ He owns this house. ❌ He is owning this house.) Belong → (✅ This book belongs to me. ❌ This book is belonging to me.) 3. Verbs of Emotion Love → (✅ I love coffee. ❌ I am loving coffee.) Like → (✅ She likes the movie. ❌ She is liking the movie.) Hate → (✅ They hate waiting. ❌ They are hating waiting.) 4. Verbs of Senses See → (✅ I see a bird. ❌ I am seeing a bird.) Hear → (✅ I hear music. ❌ I am hearing music.) Smell → (✅ This flower smells nice. ❌ This flower is smelling nice.) However, some of these verbs can take "-ing" in special cases! For example: "I am having lunch" (Here, "having" means eating, not possession.) "I am seeing my friend tomorrow" (Here, "seeing" means meeting, not using eyes.) Let me know if you need more examples!

"Sniff" is an action verb, not a stative verb, so it can take "-ing." ✅ I am sniffing the flowers. (Correct, because "sniff" is an action.) ✅ He sniffed the food before eating. However, "smell" (which describes a state) usually does not take "-ing": ✅ The flowers smell nice. (Correct, because "smell" describes a state.) ❌ The flowers are smelling nice. (Incorrect in most cases.)