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Non-Continuous Verbs

These verbs are usually things you cannot see somebody doing. These verbs are rarely used in

continuous tenses.

Abstract

Verbs

Possession

Verbs

Mental and Emotional

Verbs

Communication

Verbs

Sense

Verbs

to be

to want

to cost

to seemto need

to care

to containto owe

to exist

to possess

to own

to belong

to have

to believe

to dislike

to doubt

to imagineto know

to like

to loveto hate

to prefer

to realizeto recognize

to remember

to suppose

to understandto want

to wish

to envyto fear

to mind

to agree

to astonish

to deny

to disagreeto impress

to mean

to pleaseto promise

to satisfy

to surprise

to appear

to hear

to see

to seemto smell

to sound

to tasteto feel

He is needing help now. Not Correct He needs help now. Correct  

He is wanting a drink now. Not Correct He wants a drink now. Correct

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Exercises. Using the words in parentheses, complete the text below with the appropriate simple present tense or present continuous tense verb.

1.  Look, I _______________ (have) two tickets for the circus.

2.  Look, I _______________ (hold) two tickets for the circus.

3.  We _______________ (be) more than half an hour early for the show.

4. 

We _______________ (wait) until the show begins in half an hour.

5.  Sam _______________ (sit) next to me now.

6.  Sam _______________ (be) next to me now.

7.  One clown _______________ (balance) a glass on his head.

8.  One clown _______________ (have) a glass on his head.

9.  Right now, I _______________ (see) two elephants doing tricks in the ring.

10. Right now, I _______________ (look) at two elephants doing tricks in the ring.

11. Maybe I'll change my mind later, but right now I ___________ (think) that is a bad idea.

12. Although Evan ___________ (watch) TV now, Nina ___________ (prefer) to read.

13. We used to live in L.A., but now we ___________ (live) in San Francisco.

14. Our labrador, Percy, ___________ (know) how to open the refrigerator.

15. Peter ___________ (be) on the other side of the room, but he ___________ (talk) very

loud, so I ___________ (hear) him clearly.

16. I can't drive you to the airport right now because my sister ___________ (have) my car.

17. Jorge ___________ (understand) everything the students ___________ (learn) in class

right now.

18. 

This shirt still ___________ (feel) wet, but I ___________ (wear) it anyway.

19. Callie's cookies ___________ (taste) really good today.

20. 

Eddie really ___________ (hate) doing homework right now.

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Mixed VerbsThese verbs have more than one meaning. In a way, each meaning is a unique verb. Some

meanings behave like non-continuous verbs, while other meanings behave like normal verbs.

Verb Non-Continuous Continuous

to appear Donna appears confused.

 Donna seems confused. 

My favorite singer is appearing at

the jazz club tonight.

 My favorite singer is giving a performance at the jazz club tonight. 

to be Joe is American.

 Joe is an American citizen. 

Joe is being very American.

 Joe is behaving like a stereotypical

 American.

Joe is being very rude. Joe is behaving very rudely. Usually

he is not rude. 

to feel I don't feel well today.

 I am a little sick.

The massage feels great. The massage has a pleasing feeling .

He feels he should get a second

chance. His opinion is that he should get a

 second chance.

I am not feeling well today.

 I am a little sick. (same meaning)

I am not feeling any sensation in mytoes.

 My toes are numb. 

to have I have a dollar now.

 I possess a dollar. 

I am having fun now.

 I am experiencing fun now. 

to hear She hears the music.

She hears the music with her ears. 

She is hearing voices.

She hears something others cannot

hear. 

to look Nancy looks tired.

She seems tired. Farah is looking at the pictures.

She is looking with her eyes. 

to miss John misses Sally. He is sad because she is not there. 

Debbie is missing her favorite TV program.

She is not there to see her favorite

 program. 

to see I see her.

 I see her with my eyes. 

I am seeing the doctor.

 I am visiting or consulting with adoctor.

I am seeing her.

 I am having a relationship with her.He is seeing ghosts at night.

 He sees something others cannot see. 

to smell The coffee smells good.

The coffee has a good smell. 

I am smelling the flowers.

 I am sniffing the flowers to see what

their smell is like. 

to taste The coffee tastes good.

The coffee has a good taste. 

I am tasting the cake.

 I am trying the cake to see what ittastes like. 

to think He thinks the test is easy. He considers the test to be easy. 

She is thinking about the question.She is pondering the question. 

to weigh The table eighs a lot.The table is heavy. 

She is weighing herself.She is determining her weight. 

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Continuous and Non-Continuous Verbs 

Using the words in parentheses, complete the text below with the appropriate simple present or

 present continuous tense.

1.  I _______________ (look) at that strange man.

2. 

It _______________ (look) impossible!

3.  I _______________ (see) what you mean.

4.  She _______________ (see) a doctor this morning.

5.  He _______________ (think) hard about the problem.

6.  I _______________ (think) we should leave immediately.

7.  That singer _______________ (appear) at the theater tonight.

8.  That _______________ (appear) stale.

9. 

The cook _______________ (taste) the sauce.10.

 

That _______________ (taste) good!

11. 

I hate it when the telephone rings when I ____________ (have) dinner.

12. I ___________ (have) enough money to buy your dinner.

13. I ___________ (miss) my children when they are at school.

14. I ___________ (miss) the rush-hour traffic because I left work early.

15. Yes, I ___________ (see) the flowers in the field.

16. I am dating her, but we ____________ (see) other people too.

17. That milk ____________ (smell) sour.

18. The girl ___________ (smell) a rose in that photograph.

19. The postal clerk ___________ (weigh) the package to calculate the postage.

20. My suitcase ____________ (weigh) too much!

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Answers 

from page 2: 1.  have

2. 

am holding

3. 

are

4.  are waiting

5.  is sitting

6. 

is7.  is balancing

8. 

has

9. 

see

10. am looking

11.  think

12.  is watching; prefers

13. are living

14. knows

15. 

is; is talking; hear

16. has

17. 

understands; are learning18.  feels; am wearing

19.  taste

20. hates

from page 4: 1.  am looking

2. 

looks

3.  see

4.  is seeing

5.  is thinking

6.  think

7. 

is appearing8.

 

appears

9. 

is tasting

10.  tastes

11. am having

12. have

13. miss

14. 

am missing

15. 

see

16. are seeing

17. smells

18. 

is smelling19.  is weighing

20. 

weighs