Non-continuous verbs

There are some verbs that we do not normally use with continuous (or progressive) tenses. And there are other verbs that have one meaning with simple tenses and a different meaning with continuous tenses.

Non-continuous verbs are verbs that we do not normally use with continuous tenses. These «stative» verbs are about state, not action, and they cannot express the continuous or progressive aspect. Here are some of the most common non-continuous verbs:

• feeling: hate, like, love, prefer, want, wish
• senses: appear, feel, hear, see, seem, smell, sound, taste
• communication: agree, deny, disagree, mean, promise, satisfy, surprise
• thinking: believe, imagine, know, mean, realize, recognize, remember, understand
• other states: be, belong, concern, depend, involve, matter, need, owe, own, possess

Look at these example sentences, right and wrong:

Notice that we often use can + see/hear:

• I can see someone in the distance. notI am seeing someone in the distance.
• I can’t hear you very well. not I am not hearing you very well.