Stative (Adjective)
Meaning
(used of verbs (e.g. `be' or `own') and most participial adjectives) expressing existence or a state rather than an action.
Classification
All adjective clusters.
Examples
- The stative verb "know" expresses a state of knowledge, rather than an action of acquiring it.
- She was tall, with the adjective describing her physical state as opposed to her action of standing up.
- Stative verbs like "belong" are often used in combination with other verbs to convey a certain condition or quality.
- The participial adjective "satisfied" has a stative meaning, describing a state of being content rather than an action of becoming content.
- In English, stative verbs such as "be" and "seem" are typically not used in the progressive aspect.