State Verbs in Continuous Tenses – English Grammar Exercises for B2

1   (B) am having

• Why it is correct (Key): “Have a tough time” is an idiomatic phrase describing an ongoing experience, not possession. Therefore, it is a dynamic verb and requires the Present Continuous.
• Error analysis: (A) is a Common Mistake; students often memorize “have is a state verb” without learning the exceptions for experiences. (C) is a Structural Error (missing the “-ing”). (D) is a Strong Distractor; the Present Perfect Simple sounds okay but fails to emphasize the current, ongoing nature of the struggle as effectively as the continuous form.

2   (D) don’t have

• Why it is correct (Key): Here, “have” means possession (owning money). Possession is a pure state and can never be used in continuous tenses.
• Error analysis: (C) is a Common Mistake; learners try to use continuous because the lack of money is happening right now. (B) is a Structural Error (missing the auxiliary “do”). (A) is a Strong Distractor; “haven’t got to” means “am not obligated to,” which completely changes the meaning.

3   (A) am having

• Why it is correct (Key): Similar to Q1, “have trouble” is an active experience happening “Right now”. It acts as a dynamic verb.
• Error analysis: (B) is a Common Mistake; treating an active experience as a permanent state. (D) is a Strong Distractor (wrong tense aspect, missing the ongoing element). (C) is a Structural Error (“having got” is not a valid continuous structure).

4   (C) has

• Why it is correct (Key): The landlord possessing rules is a stative concept (an attribute or fact). Because “every landlord” is a singular subject, it takes the singular simple present “has”.
• Error analysis: (D) is a Common Mistake; incorrectly applying the continuous tense to a state. (A) is a Structural Error (wrong subject-verb agreement for “every landlord”). (B) is a Strong Distractor; “holding rules” is incorrect collocation (we have rules, we don’t hold them).

5   (A) am having

• Why it is correct (Key): “Have lunch” means the action of eating. Since it is an action happening “at the moment,” the continuous form is required.
• Error analysis: (C) is a Common Mistake; failing to recognize “have” as an action verb when referring to meals. (B) is a Strong Distractor; wrong tense (Present Perfect implies the meal is already finished). (D) is a Structural Error.

6   (D) am having

• Why it is correct (Key): “Have second thoughts” means experiencing doubts. Because it is triggered by “looking at this contract right now”, it is an active mental struggle happening in the present moment.
• Error analysis: (A) is a Common Mistake; simple present would imply a general truth rather than an immediate reaction to the contract. (C) is a Strong Distractor (Present Perfect doesn’t fit the “right now” trigger). (B) is a Structural Error.

7   (A) have

• Why it is correct (Key): “Have a room” indicates possession or tenancy. This is a state, so it must be in the simple tense, even though it is temporary (“until the end of this month”).
• Error analysis: (D) is a Common Mistake; students often think “temporary = continuous”, but state verbs resist the continuous form regardless of duration. (B) is a Strong Distractor; “possessing” is a state verb too and also shouldn’t be continuous, plus it sounds highly unnatural for a hostel room. (C) is a Structural Error.

8   (C) am having

• Why it is correct (Key): “Have a meeting” is an event/action. The Present Continuous can be used for fixed, planned future arrangements (“Tomorrow morning”).
• Error analysis: (D) is a Common Mistake; using present simple for future plans is usually reserved for fixed timetables (like trains), not personal meetings. (B) is a Strong Distractor (Future Perfect doesn’t make sense here). (A) is a Structural Error.

9   (B) have

• Why it is correct (Key): “Have expectations” means possessing a belief or an idea in your mind. This is a cognitive state and takes the simple tense.
• Error analysis: (A) is a Common Mistake; trying to make a mental state continuous. (C) is a Strong Distractor; “keeping expectations” is a poor/incorrect collocation in English. (D) is a Structural Error.

10   (C) am not having

• Why it is correct (Key): “Have a nervous breakdown” is a medical/emotional event that one experiences. It is dynamic, so it can take the continuous form.
• Error analysis: (A) is a Common Mistake; using simple present implies she never generally has breakdowns, but she wants to emphasize she isn’t experiencing one right now. (D) is a Strong Distractor (tense mismatch). (B) is a Structural Error (missing “got” or proper auxiliary).

11   (D) had

• Why it is correct (Key): The apartment possessing a balcony is a physical characteristic (State). Since the context is in the past (“saw yesterday”), Past Simple is required.
• Error analysis: (A) is a Common Mistake; learners try to match the continuous nature of “looking” with the verb “have”. (C) is a Strong Distractor (Present Perfect conflicts with the specific time marker “yesterday”). (B) is a Structural Error (clunky and redundant auxiliary usage).

12   (B) have been having

• Why it is correct (Key): “Have a nightmare” is an experience (Dynamic). The keyword “Lately” requires the Present Perfect Continuous to show a repeated action over a recent period of time up to now.
• Error analysis: (C) is a Common Mistake; Present Continuous strictly means at this exact second, which doesn’t fit “Lately”. (A) is a Strong Distractor (Present Simple is for permanent habits, ignoring “Lately”). (D) is a Strong Distractor; implies the nightmares are completely finished.

13   (A) have

• Why it is correct (Key): “Have to” acts as a semi-modal verb of obligation. Obligation is a state, not an action, so it cannot be continuous.
• Error analysis: (D) is a Common Mistake; trying to apply a continuous tense to an obligation. (B) is a Strong Distractor; “must have to” is redundant and grammatically incorrect (double obligation). (C) is a Structural Error.

14   (A) am having

• Why it is correct (Key): “Have a look” is an active idiomatic phrase meaning “to inspect”. Accompanied by “right now”, it needs the Present Continuous.
• Error analysis: (D) is a Common Mistake; using the simple tense for an action happening currently. (B) is a Strong Distractor; “take a look” is correct English, but in the simple tense it fails the “right now” grammar rule. (C) is a Structural Error.

15   (A) don’t have

• Why it is correct (Key): Having a passport on your person is a state of physical possession. Even though it’s temporary (“right this second”), it must remain simple.
• Error analysis: (C) is a Common Mistake; falling into the trap that “right this second” automatically equals Present Continuous, forgetting the state verb exception. (B) is a Strong Distractor (tense mismatch; the situation is present). (D) is a Structural Error.

16   (B) am having

• Why it is correct (Key): “Have a battle” means actively fighting or struggling against something (the bureaucracy). It is a dynamic experience.
• Error analysis: (D) is a Common Mistake; using simple present makes it sound like she owns a battle, rather than experiencing it. (A) is a Strong Distractor (emphatic, but still conveys the wrong stative meaning). (C) is a Structural Error.

17   (D) have

• Why it is correct (Key): “Have a guarantor” signifies a relationship or connection (possession). This is a state verb. Also, it is inside a First Conditional “if” clause, which requires the Present Simple.
• Error analysis: (A) is a Common Mistake; applying continuous to a state/relationship. (C) is a Strong Distractor; a common error is putting “will” inside the “if” clause. (B) is a Structural Error; “have got to” changes the meaning entirely to “must be a local resident.”

18   (A) had

• Why it is correct (Key): “Have no idea” means “to not know.” Knowing (or not knowing) is a cognitive state, which is always stative. Set in the past, it becomes “had”.
• Error analysis: (B) is a Common Mistake; trying to make a mental state continuous to match a past background timeline. (D) is a Strong Distractor (Present Perfect doesn’t fit the past context of “before I arrived”). (C) is a Structural Error.

19   (B) am having

• Why it is correct (Key): “Have issues” means experiencing problems. It is dynamic and happening “Right now,” requiring the continuous form.
• Error analysis: (C) is a Common Mistake; confusing it with the possession form of “have”. (A) is a Strong Distractor; “make issues” is an incorrect collocation (you have/experience issues with a bank, you don’t make them). (D) is a Structural Error.

20   (C) have / am having

• Why it is correct (Key): Blank 1 is “have to” (obligation = State = Simple Tense). Blank 2 is “having a frustrating month” (experiencing a time period = Dynamic = Continuous Tense).
• Error analysis: (A) is a Common Mistake; gets the stative vs. dynamic rules completely backward. (B) is a Strong Distractor; fails to convey that the frustrating month is an ongoing, temporary experience. (D) is a Structural Error (wrong verb format in the second blank).

The verb HAVE is one of the most common “mixed” verbs in English. Its grammar changes completely depending on its meaning.

1 HAVE as a STATE VERB (Never Continuous)

When “have” means possession, ownership, relationships, or attributes, it is a state verb. It describes a fact that is either true or false. You cannot use “-ing” forms (am having, was having).

• Possession: I have a car. (NOT: I am having a car).
• Relationships: I have two siblings.
• Attributes: She has green eyes.
• Obligation: I have to pay rent.
• Mental States: I have an idea / I have no clue.

2 HAVE as a DYNAMIC VERB (Can be Continuous)

When “have” is part of an expression that means experiencing something, eating, taking part in an event, or performing an action, it is a dynamic verb. You can (and often should) use continuous tenses to show the action is ongoing or temporary.

• Experiences: I am having a hard time / trouble / fun / problems.
• Eating/Drinking: We are having dinner / a cup of coffee.
• Events/Actions: He is having a meeting / a shower / a look / a chat.