When a verb describes a state and not an action we do not use the continuous tense. For example, 'play' is an action so we can say 'playing' whereas 'be' is a fixed state which does not change: 'To be, or not to be'.
Grammatically it is not correct to say "I'm loving it" even though McDonald's have made this expression famous. 'Love' is a state verb and so we should say "I love it".
State verbs generally fall into different groups:
Conditions: belong, cost, need, own, seem
Feelings: like, love, hate, want, wish
Beliefs: believe, feel, know, mean, remember, think, understand
Here are some more examples of state verbs:
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State Verbs
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| doubt | dislike | understand | suspect |
| loathe | own | belong | know |
| like | need | want | seem |
| mean | believe | forget | remember |
| prefer | hate | love | see |
