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I have a question concerning the verb to have in the continuous tense. I know this verb is "stative" if it means "to possess". Have a shower / a dinner etc. are action verbs and they can be used in the continuos tenses. However, I am not sure about "have a problem" or "have a headache"...
I have a question concerning the verb to have in the continuous tense. I know this verb is "stative" if it means "to possess". Have a shower / a dinner etc. are action verbs and they can be used in the continuos tenses. However, I am not sure about "have a problem" or "have a headache"...
You can say I have (got) a problem... or I'm having a problem..., but you can only say I have (got) a headache.
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You can say I have (got) a problem... or I'm having a problem..., but you can only say I have (got) a headache.
Thank you very much. Is there a rule for that? I know that if you can replace the construction with "have" by a lexical verb and it describes an action, it can be used in the continuous tenses. However, some cases are not so clear.
Last edited by la_patata; 30-Oct-2008 at 22:01.
Reason: misspelling
Thank you very much. Is there a rule for that? I know that if you can replace the construction with "have" by a lexical verb and it describes an action, it can be used in the continuous tenses. However, some cases are not so clear.
That is so true. It's not that easy to know when you can use have with an action meaning, and have with a stative meaning. Loats of reading would certainly do the trick to get accustomed to using have in the continuous form.
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"to have" in the continuous tense 
Re: "to have" in the continuous tense 
Re: "to have" in the continuous tense 
It's not that easy to know when you can use have with an action meaning, and have with a stative meaning. Loats of reading would certainly do the trick to get accustomed to using have in the continuous form.
Linear Mode
