Stative and Performative Verbs
State Verbs are verbs which describe a state rather than an action and therefore do not normally have continuous tenses. These include:
1) verbs which express likes and dislikes: like, love, dislike, hate, enjoy, prefer, adore, etc. e.g. I love chocolate ice cream.
2) verbs of the senses: see, hear, smell, taste, feel, look, sound. We often use can or could with these verbs when we refer to what we see, hear, etc. at the moment of speaking, e.g. Jim must be at home. I can see his car parked outside.
3) verbs of perception: know, believe, understand, realise, remember, forget, notice, recognise, think, seem, see (=understand), expect (=think), etc. e.g. I expect they will be late.
4) some other verbs such as be, contain, include, belong, fit, need, matter, cost, mean, own, want, owe, have ( = possess), require, weigh, wish, keep (=continue), etc. e.g. My uncle owns a hotel.

Some of the above verbs are used in continuous tenses when they describe actions and not states. Study the following examples:
I think he's lying. (= believe) – I'm thinking about the plan. (= am considering)
The food tastes delicious. (= has a delicious flavour) – He is tasting the food. (= is testing the flavour of)
I can see some people. (= perceive with my eyes) – I see what you mean. (= understand) –
I'm seeing my doctor tomorrow. (= am meeting)
It looks as if they've finished the job. (= appears) – Mike is looking out of the window. (is directing his eyes)
This perfume smells nice. (= has a nice smell) – He is smelling the milk. (= is sniffing)
The baby's hair feels like silk (= has the texture of) – She is feeling the baby's forehead. (= is touching)
Bob has a Porsche. (= possesses) – He's having a shower at the moment. (= is taking a shower)
The chicken weighs 2 kilos. (= has a weight of) – The butcher is weighing the meat. (= is measuring how heavy it is)
This dress fits you perfectly. (= it is the right size) – We are fitting new locks. (= are putting in)
He appears to be nervous. (= seems) – He is appearing in a new play. (= is taking part)
He is a rude person. (= character - permanent state) – He is being rude. (= behaviour - temporary situation, usually with adjectives such as careful, silly, (im)polite. lazy, etc.)

Note:
a) The verb enjoy can be used in continuous tenses to express specific preference.
e.g. I'm enjoying this party a lot. (specific preference)
BUT: I enjoy going to parties. (I enjoy parties in general.)
b) The verbs look (when we refer to a person's appearance), feel (= experience a particular emotion), hurt and ache can be used in either the continuous or simple tenses with no difference in meaning. e.g. You look/are looking great today.

Performative Verbs are used in the first person actually to perform an action, i.e. saying I apologise performs the action of apologising. When these verbs ‘perform’ the function they express, they do not usually take the continuous:
Railtrack apologises for the disruption to services over the last three months.
By saying this, the function of apologising is performed. However, if we use the verb to describe the action rather than to do it, we can use the continuous:
The Railtrack chief executive was apologising many times for the inconvenience.
Common performative verbs are: accept, agree, apologise, congratulate, declare, deny, disagree, forbid, forgive, guarantee, insist, invite, order, predict, promise, recommend, refuse, request, suggest, thank, warn.