Verbs not used in progressive forms

March 9, 2011

Some verbs are not used in progressive forms.

• I love you. (NOT I am loving you.)
• I like this color. (NOT I am liking this color.)
• I rang her up because I wanted to speak. (NOT I rang her up because I was wanting to speak.)

Many of these non-progressive verbs refer to states rather than actions.
Common non-progressive verbs
Here is a list of some common verbs which are not often used in progressive forms.
Believe, doubt, feel, imagine, know, dislike, love, hate, prefer, realize, recognize, remember, see, suppose, think, understand, want, wish, appear, hear, look, see, seem, smell, sound, taste, agree, deny, astonish, disagree, impress, mean, please, promise, satisfy, surprise, belong, concern, consist, depend, fit, involve, lack, matter, need, owe, own, possess, weigh etc.