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Present Continuous Tense: Present Continuous Tense #5

Dennis Oliver
Verbs Which are Not Usually Used
in Continuous Tenses

The present continuous tense is very common in English,
but some verbs are usually not used in it (or in any tense
showing the continuous aspect). Here is a list of some
common verbs that are not usually continuous:

appear*
appreciate*
be*
believe
belong
care
contain
cost
doubt
desire
dislike
equal
envy
fear
feel*
forget
hate
have*
hear
imagine*
include*
know
like
love
matter
mean
mind*
need
owe
own
prefer
possess
realize
recognize
remember*
resemble
see*
seem
smell*
sound
suppose
surprise
taste*
think*
understand
want
weigh

Example sentences:

not this: I'm believing you.
but this: I believe you.

not this: That car is costing $22,000.
but this: That car costs $22,000.

not this: He's hating to get up early.
but this: He hates to get up early.

not this: You're owing me five dollars!
but this: You owe me five dollars!

not this: Is this sentence seeming correct?
but this: Does this sentence seem correct?

not this: Coffee is tasting bitter.
but this: Coffee tastes bitter.

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Special Note:

Some of the above verbs (the ones with *) have
more than one meaning, however, and at least one
of those meanings can be used in continuous tenses.
We'll take a look at these verbs in the next Hint.

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