{"id":882,"date":"2014-10-13T09:00:02","date_gmt":"2014-10-13T16:00:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/?p=882"},"modified":"2020-12-10T13:46:59","modified_gmt":"2020-12-10T21:46:59","slug":"stative-verbs-perceptions-and-opinions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/stative-verbs-perceptions-and-opinions\/","title":{"rendered":"Stative Verbs, Perceptions, and Opinions"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Most of the verbs in the English language are <a href=\"http:\/\/esl.about.com\/od\/grammarstructures\/a\/g_stative.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>action verbs<\/em><\/a> that describe what a subject <em>does<\/em>. When an action takes place in the real present, use the <a href=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/the-four-present-tenses-and-their-ten-uses\/\">present continuous tense<\/a>. You can do that right now by saying \u201cI <strong>am reading<\/strong> David\u2019s blog entry.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>There is a smaller group of verbs in English called <a href=\"http:\/\/esl.about.com\/od\/grammarstructures\/a\/g_stative.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"><em>stative verbs<\/em><\/a> that describe what a subject <em>is<\/em>. Here is an example sentence: \u201cI <strong>believe <\/strong>her.\u201d When they refer to the real present, stative verbs must be in <A href=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/the-four-present-tenses-and-their-ten-uses\/\">simple present tense<\/a>. (\u201cI <em>am believing<\/em> her\u201d does not sound correct in English.) The most important stative verbs in the TOEFL <a href=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/toefl-writing-section-breakdown\/\">writing<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/speaking\/\">speaking<\/a> sections are the ones that express <em>opinions<\/em> (what someone <em>thinks<\/em>) and <em>perceptions<\/em> (what someone <em>feels<\/em>).<\/p>\n<p>TOEFL Writing Task 2 asks you to express your own opinions and perceptions. Let\u2019s look a sample response to the Writing Task 2 prompt in <a href=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/toefl-writing-samples-complete-guide\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">this blog post.<\/a> The test-taker must agree or disagree with the statement \u201cModern life is easier than life in the past.\u201d The sample response opens with a stative verb of perception: \u201cI definitely <strong>agree <\/strong> that modern life is easier than life in the past.\u201d At the end, another stative verb is used to provide a glimpse into what the future might look like: \u201cI <strong>hope<\/strong> that current generations will work together to make life easier for everyone, now that it is possible to do so.\u201d Grammar is as important as word choice. If the test taker had written \u201cI <em>am definitely agreeing<\/em> that modern life is easier,\u201d or \u201cI <em>am hoping<\/em> that current generations will work together&#8230;,\u201d the words would have been confusing and less powerful. The score would have been lower, too.<\/p>\n<p>Stative verbs of perception and opinion are similarly important in the TOEFL Speaking Section. In Practice Test 1 of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Official-Guide-TOEFL-CD-ROM-Edition\/dp\/0071766588\/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1412316221&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=the+official+guide+to+the+toefl+test\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">The Official Guide to the TOEFL Test<\/a>, the first Speaking Section task asks students to describe a place they go to often, and to explain why it is important to them. Statements of perception such as \u201cI <strong>feel<\/strong> comfortable there\u201d or \u201cI <strong>need <\/strong>to go there because\u2026\u201d are good choices. The second question asks test-takers to say whether it is better to study many different subjects or just focus on one subject. Opinions can be expressed in sentences such as \u201cI <strong>think<\/strong> it is better to study many different subjects,\u201d or \u201cI <strong>prefer<\/strong> to focus on one subject.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The third question in the TOEFL Speaking Section asks you to listen to a conversation and identify the opinion of one of the speakers. In TOEFL iBT Test 2 from <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Official-TOEFL-iBT-Tests-Audio\/dp\/0071771263\/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&amp;qid=1412316674&amp;sr=8-1&amp;keywords=official+toefl+IBT+tests\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Official TOEFL iBT Tests with Audio<\/a>, the male speaker is happy about changes to his university dining hall. Possible stative verb responses include \u201cThe man <strong>agrees with<\/strong> the changes,\u201d and \u201cHe <strong>believes<\/strong> the dining hall made a good decision.\u201d In the fifth question of the speaking section, test-takers need to identify the opinions of both speakers in a conversation. They also need to offer their own opinion. To bring all of these opinions together, use stative verbs to say things like \u201cThe male speaker <strong>dislikes<\/strong>,\u201d \u201cThe female speaker <strong>doubts<\/strong>,\u201d \u201cI <strong>sympathize with<\/strong> the female speaker because,\u201d and so on.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s not always easy to speak your mind, especially in a second language. Skilled use of stative verbs can help you express yourself clearly. It can also help you understand the personal thoughts of other people. Study stative verbs and remember to keep them in simple present tense. Soon, you will be on your way to English success. You can enjoy this success both on the TOEFL and in everyday social situations.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Most of the verbs in the English language are action verbs that describe what a subject does. When an action takes place in the real present, use the present continuous tense. You can do that right now by saying \u201cI am reading David\u2019s blog entry.\u201d There is a smaller group of verbs in English called [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":80,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[13603],"tags":[],"ppma_author":[13630],"class_list":["post-882","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-grammar"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v21.7 (Yoast SEO v21.7) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Stative Verbs, Perceptions, and Opinions - Magoosh Blog \u2013 TOEFL\u00ae\ufe0f Test<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/stative-verbs-perceptions-and-opinions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Stative Verbs, Perceptions, and Opinions\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Most of the verbs in the English language are action verbs that describe what a subject does. When an action takes place in the real present, use the present continuous tense. You can do that right now by saying \u201cI am reading David\u2019s blog entry.\u201d There is a smaller group of verbs in English called [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/stative-verbs-perceptions-and-opinions\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Magoosh Blog \u2013 TOEFL\u00ae\ufe0f Test\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/facebook.com\/MagooshTOEFL\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MagooshEnglishLearning\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2014-10-13T16:00:02+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-12-10T21:46:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/files\/2016\/09\/Facebook-SEO-Default.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"628\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"David Recine\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@MagooshTOEFL\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@MagooshTOEFL\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"David Recine\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/stative-verbs-perceptions-and-opinions\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/stative-verbs-perceptions-and-opinions\/\",\"name\":\"Stative Verbs, Perceptions, and Opinions - Magoosh Blog \u2013 TOEFL\u00ae\ufe0f Test\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2014-10-13T16:00:02+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/#\/schema\/person\/fa2be5405a605e37f4199c90e2236768\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/stative-verbs-perceptions-and-opinions\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/stative-verbs-perceptions-and-opinions\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/stative-verbs-perceptions-and-opinions\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Stative Verbs, Perceptions, and Opinions\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/\",\"name\":\"Magoosh Blog \u2013 TOEFL\u00ae\ufe0f Test\",\"description\":\"Online TOEFL Preparation\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/#\/schema\/person\/fa2be5405a605e37f4199c90e2236768\",\"name\":\"David Recine\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/de262e64bb4e3e488753d8c58ff3cc70\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b70c17ee6f3ef87dc4cc5dbdebda911d6dd30dfe15845e4b1d459a3e1b33ef98?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b70c17ee6f3ef87dc4cc5dbdebda911d6dd30dfe15845e4b1d459a3e1b33ef98?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"David Recine\"},\"description\":\"David is a Test Prep Expert for Magoosh TOEFL and IELTS. Additionally, he's helped students with TOEIC, PET, FCE, BULATS, Eiken, SAT, ACT, GRE, and GMAT. David has a BS and MA from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and an MA from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.\",\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MagooshEnglishLearning\",\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/david-recine\/\",\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCra3KQoJlOP7RYwaCyH2qew\"],\"knowsAbout\":[\"TOEFL\",\"IELTS\",\"TOEIC\",\"PET\",\"FCE\",\"BULATS\",\"Eiken\",\"SAT\",\"ACT\",\"GRE\",\"GMAT\"],\"knowsLanguage\":[\"English\",\"Italian\"],\"jobTitle\":\"Content Creator\",\"worksFor\":\"Magoosh\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/author\/davidr\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Stative Verbs, Perceptions, and Opinions - Magoosh Blog \u2013 TOEFL\u00ae\ufe0f Test","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/stative-verbs-perceptions-and-opinions\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Stative Verbs, Perceptions, and Opinions","og_description":"Most of the verbs in the English language are action verbs that describe what a subject does. When an action takes place in the real present, use the present continuous tense. You can do that right now by saying \u201cI am reading David\u2019s blog entry.\u201d There is a smaller group of verbs in English called [&hellip;]","og_url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/stative-verbs-perceptions-and-opinions\/","og_site_name":"Magoosh Blog \u2013 TOEFL\u00ae\ufe0f Test","article_publisher":"https:\/\/facebook.com\/MagooshTOEFL","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MagooshEnglishLearning","article_published_time":"2014-10-13T16:00:02+00:00","article_modified_time":"2020-12-10T21:46:59+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":628,"url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/files\/2016\/09\/Facebook-SEO-Default.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"David Recine","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@MagooshTOEFL","twitter_site":"@MagooshTOEFL","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"David Recine","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/stative-verbs-perceptions-and-opinions\/","url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/stative-verbs-perceptions-and-opinions\/","name":"Stative Verbs, Perceptions, and Opinions - Magoosh Blog \u2013 TOEFL\u00ae\ufe0f Test","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/#website"},"datePublished":"2014-10-13T16:00:02+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/#\/schema\/person\/fa2be5405a605e37f4199c90e2236768"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/stative-verbs-perceptions-and-opinions\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/stative-verbs-perceptions-and-opinions\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/stative-verbs-perceptions-and-opinions\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Stative Verbs, Perceptions, and Opinions"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/#website","url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/","name":"Magoosh Blog \u2013 TOEFL\u00ae\ufe0f Test","description":"Online TOEFL Preparation","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/#\/schema\/person\/fa2be5405a605e37f4199c90e2236768","name":"David Recine","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/de262e64bb4e3e488753d8c58ff3cc70","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b70c17ee6f3ef87dc4cc5dbdebda911d6dd30dfe15845e4b1d459a3e1b33ef98?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b70c17ee6f3ef87dc4cc5dbdebda911d6dd30dfe15845e4b1d459a3e1b33ef98?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"David Recine"},"description":"David is a Test Prep Expert for Magoosh TOEFL and IELTS. Additionally, he's helped students with TOEIC, PET, FCE, BULATS, Eiken, SAT, ACT, GRE, and GMAT. David has a BS and MA from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and an MA from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls.","sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MagooshEnglishLearning","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/david-recine\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCra3KQoJlOP7RYwaCyH2qew"],"knowsAbout":["TOEFL","IELTS","TOEIC","PET","FCE","BULATS","Eiken","SAT","ACT","GRE","GMAT"],"knowsLanguage":["English","Italian"],"jobTitle":"Content Creator","worksFor":"Magoosh","url":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/author\/davidr\/"}]}},"authors":[{"term_id":13630,"user_id":80,"is_guest":0,"slug":"davidr","display_name":"David Recine","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/b70c17ee6f3ef87dc4cc5dbdebda911d6dd30dfe15845e4b1d459a3e1b33ef98?s=96&d=mm&r=g","user_url":"","last_name":"Recine","first_name":"David","description":"David is a Test Prep Expert for Magoosh TOEFL and IELTS. Additionally, he's helped students with TOEIC, PET, FCE, BULATS, Eiken, SAT, ACT, GRE, and GMAT.\r\n\r\nDavid has a BS from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire and an MA from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. His work at Magoosh has been cited in<a href=\"https:\/\/scholar.google.com\/scholar?hl=en&amp;as_sdt=0%2C50&amp;q=Recine+magoosh&amp;btnG=\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> many scholarly articles<\/a>,<a href=\"https:\/\/minds.wisconsin.edu\/handle\/1793\/65479\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> his Master's Thesis<\/a> is featured on the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.readingwithpictures.org\/2013\/09\/research-highlight-teaching-english-language-learners-with-comics\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> Reading with Pictures<\/a> website, and he's presented at the<a href=\"https:\/\/www.witesol.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/2014-WITESOL-Program-FINAL-10-28-14.pdf\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> WITESOL (link to PDF)<\/a> and<a href=\"https:\/\/issuu.com\/interoff\/docs\/nafsaregionv_2014conference\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\"> NAFSA<\/a> conferences. David has taught K-12 ESL in South Korea as well as undergraduate English and MBA-level business English at American universities. He has also trained English teachers in America, Italy, and Peru.\r\n\r\nCome join David and the Magoosh team on<a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/channel\/UCra3KQoJlOP7RYwaCyH2qew\"> Youtube<\/a>,<a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MagooshEnglishLearning\"> Facebook<\/a>, and<a href=\"https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/magooshenglish\/?hl=en\"> Instagram<\/a>, or connect with him via<a href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/in\/david-recine\/\"> LinkedIn<\/a>!"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/882","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/80"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=882"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/882\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=882"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=882"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=882"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/magoosh.com\/toefl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=882"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}