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16
However these verbs as well as other statal verbs may be sometimes used in continuous and perfect
continuous forms, especially in informal English.*
* These verbs will be considered in detail in § 22.
3. Verbs expressing emotional state:
to care, to detest, to envy, to fear, to hate, to hope, to like, to love, to prefer, to want, to wish.
4. Verbs expressing mental state:
to assume, to believe, to consider, to doubt, to expect, to find, to forget, to imagine, to know, to mean, to
mind, to notice, to perceive, to remember, to suggest, to suppose, to think, to understand.
Note:
Care should be taken to distinguish between some of these verbs denoting a mental state proper and the
same verbs used in other meanings. In the latter case continuous aspect forms also occur. Compare, for
example, the following pairs of sentences:
I consider (believe) her to be a very good student.
I expected (supposed, thought) you’d agree with
me.
I feel (suppose) there is something wrong about
him.
I think (suppose) you’re right.
I’m still considering (studying) all the pros and cons.
I could not come for I was expecting (waiting for) a
friend at the time.
I’m feeling quite cold.
I am thinking over (studying) your offer.
I am forgetting things more and more now (beginning to forget).
She is understanding grammar better now (beginning to understand).
Moreover, all the verbs treated in § 12 can occur in the continuous aspect when the ideas they denote are to
be emphasized:
Don’t shout, I'am hearing you perfectly well!
Why are you staring into the darkness? What are you seeing there?
Are you still remaining my friend.
You see, she’s knowing too much.
They don’t know that inside I know what they’re like, and that all the time I’m hating them.
The category of perfect
§ 13. The category of perfect is as fundamental to the English verb as the categories of tense and aspect,
whereas it is quite alien to the Russian verb.
The category of perfect is constituted by the opposition of the perfect to the non-perfect.
The perfect forms denote action preceding certain moments of time in the present, past or future. The non-
perfect forms denote actions belonging to certain moments of time in the present, past or future.
To see the difference between the two categories compare the following pairs of sentences containing non-
perfect and perfect forms:
Perfect
Non-perfect
I have seen the film, and I think it is dull.
At last you are here! I’ve been waiting for you so
long!
She had left by the 2nd of September.
She had been sleeping for half an hour when the
telephone woke her up.
I see you are tired.
Whom are you waiting for?
She left on the 2nd of September.
When the fire began, everybody was sleeping.