English Café: I am having

Advanced Details: I am having

Why is “I am having a headache.” incorrect? A native speaker of English will normally NOT say or write this sentence because it describes a temporary medical condition. However, you may tell me “But, Neal, I have heard sentences such as ‘I am having a headache’ and ‘I am having 2 brothers and 2 sisters.’ Why are these sentences different? What is going on here?”

Well, some varieties of English spoken in Asia are a little different, and they have their own usage. Nevertheless, for us staff at PTTEP, the primary grammar usage rule for Non-Continuous Verbs like “have” is: When “have” is used to show possession, or to describe medical conditions, the verb “have” should always be used in the simple present tense.

• “Have” denotes/indicates a state or condition. “She has an excellent working team.” She has a headache. POSSESSION
• “Having” denotes some action or movement, such as in “I am having breakfast/a heart attack/a good time at the party,” which is confirmation that such action is TEMPORARY/A MEDICAL CONDITION, has a short life, or that it is likely to end soon.

Non-Continuous Verbs

“Stative verbs” are about condition, not action, and they normally do not use present continuous tense. Examples:

• feeling: hate, like, love, prefer, want, wish Not often used: hating, liking, loving, preferring, wanting, wishing
• senses: appear, feel, hear, see, seem, smell, sound, taste Not often used: appearing, feeling
• communication: agree, deny, disagree, mean, promise, satisfy, surprise
• thinking: believe, imagine, know, mean, realize, recognize, remember, understand
• other states: be, belong, concern, depend, involve, matter, need, owe, own, possess

Right and Wrong:

• I want a coffee. not I am wanting a coffee.
• I don’t believe you are right. not I am not believing you are right.
• Does this pen belong to you? not Is this pen belonging to you?
• It seemed wrong. not It was seeming wrong.
• I don't hear anything. not I am not hearing anything.