State verbs + -ing

[anamaria_qd]

Hello,
I want to ask you a question concerning state verb "like"
You are liking strange things these days.:Is it grammatical this sentence?

Thank you!

[Soup]

Hi anamaria_qd

The sentence is ungrammatical.

[anamaria_qd]

Thank you v much for your prompt reply, but I want to ask you why love and hate can be used with -ing, but like can't.

for ex:
"The children love having Jean stay with us. (They love it when Jean stays) and
The children are loving having Jean stay with us. (Jean is staying with us now)"

this is from Hewings -Advanced English in use

[Soup]

I like this answer from the Azar Grammar Exchange:

It’s true that stative verbs, such as hear, see, and love are not usually used in the progressive. However, if you mean to emphasize an ongoing situation of the present time — and to show that it’s indeed different from a past situation — you can put these verbs in a progressive form. You can also do this with many of these verbs: realize, understand, and recognize, too, for example: Read more here (Scrowl down to the explanation for the example "We are loving our new home.")

[Dawood Usmani]

Originally Posted by anamaria_qd

Hello,
I want to ask you a question concerning state verb "like" is it grammatical this sentence?
You are liking strange things these days.

Thank you!

Your choice (sentence) is not grammatical.
Try some other and write it down here.
Dawood

[naomimalan]

Originally Posted by anamaria_qd

Hello,
I want to ask you a question concerning state verb "like" is it gramatical this sentence?
You are liking strange things these days.

Thank you!

Why not? One would just have to find an appropriate (jokey sort of)context for it.

On Google, there are 711 000 examples of "I'm liking". Even if one was sceptical and only wanted to accept 1% of them as coming from native speakers and not corresponding to repetitions, that would still make over a thousand examples.

My guess is that if the progressive form of like isn't yet to be found in grammars, it soon will be.

[banderas]

Originally Posted by naomimalan

Why not? One would just have to find an appropriate (jokey sort of)context for it.

On Google, there are 711 000 examples of "I'm liking". Even if one was sceptical and only wanted to accept 1% of them as coming from native speakers and not corresponding to repetitions, that would still make over a thousand examples.

My guess is that if the progressive form of like isn't yet to be found in grammars, it soon will be.

Indeed!
If we can say "I am loving it" so why not " I am liking it"?

[David L.]

anamaria_qd:
You are liking strange things these days.
A native speaker might say:
You're starting to like strange things.." =(I think you're starting to get a bit weird, mate.")

naomimalan
On Google, there are 711 000 examples of "I'm liking"

Yes - but this is another very informal way of saying "I'm starting to like"

Indeed!
If we can say "I am loving it" so why not " I am liking it"?
There is a great deal of difference between saying:
"I am loving it." versus " I am liking it." FULL STOP
and
I am loving it/ liking it here in the south of France."

[tzfujimino]

Originally Posted by David L.

anamaria_qd:
You are liking strange things these days.
A native speaker might say:
You're starting to like strange things.." =(I think you're starting to get a bit weird, mate.")

naomimalan
On Google, there are 711 000 examples of "I'm liking"

Yes - but this is another very informal way of saying "I'm starting to like"

Indeed!
If we can say "I am loving it" so why not " I am liking it"?
There is a great deal of difference between saying:
"I am loving it." versus " I am liking it." FULL STOP
and
I am loving it/ liking it here in the south of France."

I'm really sorry to barge in.
I'm also interested in this topic, so let me say something.

One of my reference books on English (written in Japanese)says:

"When "like" has the same meaning as "enjoy", the progressive form is possible. (literal translation)
Example: How are you liking your new job? "

Is the statement true?


The book, which is named "ROYAL ENGLISH GRAMMAR with Complete Examples of Usage"(I don't know why it is ROYAL.) , is quite popular in Japan with an established reputation.
However, I can no more believe what they say in these kinds of books written in Japanese.(which is why I often visit this website)

Thank you.

[banderas]

Originally Posted by tzfujimino

I'm really sorry to barge in.
I'm also interested in this topic, so let me say something.

One of my reference books on English (written in Japanese)says:

"When "like" has the same meaning as "enjoy", the progressive form is possible. (literal translation)
Example: How are you liking your new job? "

Is the statement true?


The book, which is named "ROYAL ENGLISH GRAMMAR with Complete Examples of Usage"(I don't know why it is ROYAL.) , is quite popular in Japan with an established reputation.
However, I can no more believe what they say in these kinds of books written in Japanese.(which is why I often visit this website)

Thank you.

Hi,
I feel it is worth carrying on this thread. I started writing my reply and realised that my opinion would not be completely reliable as I am a non-native speaker of English. I found some statements of native speakers which reflect what I think, actually. So let me cite, then. It comes from our forum.

"While most stative verbs can't or shouldn’t be used with the continuous, ‘love’, ‘feel’ & ‘like’ are examples of exception. ‘I’m loving it’ is similar to ‘I’m enjoying it’. Both express an action. ‘Loving’ here expresses active enjoyment, not a permanent attitude or state."

The same works for "like" but there is one very important remark.
A native speaker that uses "like" and "love" progressively might sound natural, though using these forms could be wrong grammatically. Using "like" and "love" progressively by ESL students is going to sound like a mistake, a mistake made by somone who is learning English. So be carefull. I suggest not to use it unless you are a native speaker or really fluent in English.