diff --git a/hgext/rebase.py b/hgext/rebase.py
--- a/hgext/rebase.py
+++ b/hgext/rebase.py
@@ -1822,7 +1822,7 @@
                 ui.debug('--update and --rebase are not compatible, ignoring '
                          'the update flag\n')
 
-            cmdutil.checkunfinished(repo)
+            cmdutil.checkunfinished(repo, skipmerge=True)
             cmdutil.bailifchanged(repo, hint=_('cannot pull with rebase: '
                 'please commit or shelve your changes first'))
 
@@ -1950,6 +1950,6 @@
     entry[1].append(('t', 'tool', '',
                      _("specify merge tool for rebase")))
     cmdutil.summaryhooks.add('rebase', summaryhook)
-    statemod.addunfinished('rebase', fname='rebasestate')
+    statemod.addunfinished('rebase', fname='rebasestate', stopflag=True)
     cmdutil.afterresolvedstates.append(
         ['rebasestate', _('hg rebase --continue')])
diff --git a/hgext/strip.py b/hgext/strip.py
--- a/hgext/strip.py
+++ b/hgext/strip.py
@@ -32,10 +32,12 @@
 testedwith = 'ships-with-hg-core'
 
 def checklocalchanges(repo, force=False):
-    cmdutil.checkunfinished(repo)
     s = repo.status()
     if not force:
+        cmdutil.checkunfinished(repo)
         cmdutil.bailifchanged(repo)
+    else:
+        cmdutil.checkunfinished(repo, skipmerge=True)
     return s
 
 def _findupdatetarget(repo, nodes):
diff --git a/hgext/transplant.py b/hgext/transplant.py
--- a/hgext/transplant.py
+++ b/hgext/transplant.py
@@ -760,6 +760,8 @@
 def extsetup(ui):
     statemod.addunfinished (
         'transplant', fname='transplant/journal', clearable=True,
+        statushint=_('To continue:    hg transplant --continue\n'
+                     'To abort:       hg update'),
         cmdhint=_("use 'hg transplant --continue' or 'hg update' to abort")
     )
 
diff --git a/mercurial/cmdutil.py b/mercurial/cmdutil.py
--- a/mercurial/cmdutil.py
+++ b/mercurial/cmdutil.py
@@ -623,15 +623,14 @@
     statetuple = statemod.getrepostate(repo)
     label = 'status.morestatus'
     if statetuple:
-        state, statedetectionpredicate, helpfulmsg = statetuple
+        state, helpfulmsg = statetuple
         statemsg = _('The repository is in an unfinished *%s* state.') % state
         fm.plain('%s\n' % _commentlines(statemsg), label=label)
         conmsg = _conflictsmsg(repo)
         if conmsg:
             fm.plain('%s\n' % conmsg, label=label)
         if helpfulmsg:
-            helpmsg = helpfulmsg()
-            fm.plain('%s\n' % helpmsg, label=label)
+            fm.plain('%s\n' % _commentlines(helpfulmsg), label=label)
 
 def findpossible(cmd, table, strict=False):
     """
@@ -3260,7 +3259,7 @@
 summaryremotehooks = util.hooks()
 
 
-def checkunfinished(repo, commit=False):
+def checkunfinished(repo, commit=False, skipmerge=False):
     '''Look for an unfinished multistep operation, like graft, and abort
     if found. It's probably good to check this right before
     bailifchanged().
@@ -3268,13 +3267,15 @@
     # Check for non-clearable states first, so things like rebase will take
     # precedence over update.
     for state in statemod._unfinishedstates:
-        if state._clearable or (commit and state._allowcommit):
+        if (state._clearable or (commit and state._allowcommit) or
+            state._reportonly):
             continue
         if state.isunfinished(repo):
             raise error.Abort(state.msg(), hint=state.hint())
 
     for s in statemod._unfinishedstates:
-        if not s._clearable or (commit and s._allowcommit):
+        if (not s._clearable or (commit and s._allowcommit) or
+            (s._opname == 'merge' and skipmerge) or s._reportonly):
             continue
         if s.isunfinished(repo):
             raise error.Abort(s.msg(), hint=s.hint())
@@ -3284,10 +3285,14 @@
     that are clearable.
     '''
     for state in statemod._unfinishedstates:
+        if state._reportonly:
+            continue
         if not state._clearable and state.isunfinished(repo):
             raise error.Abort(state.msg(), hint=state.hint())
 
     for s in statemod._unfinishedstates:
+        if s._opname == 'merge' or state._reportonly:
+            continue
         if s._clearable and s.isunfinished(repo):
             util.unlink(repo.vfs.join(s._fname))
 
diff --git a/mercurial/state.py b/mercurial/state.py
--- a/mercurial/state.py
+++ b/mercurial/state.py
@@ -98,7 +98,8 @@
     """
 
     def __init__(self, opname, fname, clearable=False, allowcommit=False,
-                 cmdmsg="", cmdhint=""):
+                 reportonly=False, stopflag=False, cmdmsg="", cmdhint="",
+                 statushint=""):
         """opname is the name the command or operation
         fname is the file name in which data should be stored in .hg directory.
         It is None for merge command.
@@ -107,21 +108,47 @@
         state file.
         allowcommit boolean decides whether commit is allowed during interrupted
         state or not.
+        reportonly flag is used for operations like bisect where we just
+        need to detect the operation using 'hg status --verbose'
+        stopflag is a boolean that determines whether or not a command supports
+        --stop flag
         cmdmsg is used to pass a different status message in case standard
         message of the format "abort: cmdname in progress" is not desired.
         cmdhint is used to pass a different hint message in case standard
-        message of the format use 'hg cmdname --continue' or
-        'hg cmdname --abort'" is not desired.
+        message of the format "To continue: hg cmdname --continue
+        To abort: hg cmdname --abort" is not desired.
+        statushint is used to pass a different status message in case standard
+        message of the format ('To continue:    hg cmdname --continue'
+        'To abort:       hg cmdname --abort') is not desired
         """
         self._opname = opname
         self._fname = fname
         self._clearable = clearable
         self._allowcommit = allowcommit
         self._cmdhint = cmdhint
+        self._statushint = statushint
         self._cmdmsg = cmdmsg
+        self._stopflag = stopflag
+        self._reportonly = reportonly
+
+    def statusmsg(self):
+        """returns the hint message corresponding to the command for
+        hg status --verbose
+        """
+        if not self._statushint:
+            hint = (_('To continue:    hg %s --continue\n'
+                      'To abort:       hg %s --abort') % (self._opname,
+                       self._opname))
+            if self._stopflag:
+                hint = hint + (_('\nTo stop:        hg %s --stop') %
+                            (self._opname))
+            return hint
+        return self._statushint
 
     def hint(self):
-        """returns the hint message corresponding to the command"""
+        """returns the hint message corresponding to an interrupted
+        operation
+        """
         if not self._cmdhint:
                 return (_("use 'hg %s --continue' or 'hg %s --abort'") %
                         (self._opname, self._opname))
@@ -134,8 +161,13 @@
         return self._cmdmsg
 
     def isunfinished(self, repo):
-        """determines whether a multi-step operation is in progress or not"""
-        return repo.vfs.exists(self._fname)
+        """determines whether a multi-step operation is in progress
+        or not
+        """
+        if self._opname == 'merge':
+            return len(repo[None].parents()) > 1
+        else:
+            return repo.vfs.exists(self._fname)
 
 # A list of statecheck objects for multistep operations like graft.
 _unfinishedstates = []
@@ -144,75 +176,40 @@
     """this registers a new command or operation to unfinishedstates
     """
     statecheckobj = _statecheck(opname, **kwargs)
-    _unfinishedstates.append(statecheckobj)
-
-addunfinished(
-    'graft', fname='graftstate', clearable=True,
-    cmdhint=_("use 'hg graft --continue' or 'hg graft --stop' to stop")
+    if opname == 'merge':
+        _unfinishedstates.append(statecheckobj)
+    else:
+        _unfinishedstates.insert(0, statecheckobj)
+
+addunfinished(
+    'graft', fname='graftstate', clearable=True, stopflag=True,
+    cmdhint=_("use 'hg graft --continue' or 'hg graft --stop' to stop"),
 )
 addunfinished(
     'update', fname='updatestate', clearable=True,
     cmdmsg=_('last update was interrupted'),
-    cmdhint=_("use 'hg update' to get a consistent checkout")
-)
-
-def _commentlines(raw):
-    '''Surround lineswith a comment char and a new line'''
-    lines = raw.splitlines()
-    commentedlines = ['# %s' % line for line in lines]
-    return '\n'.join(commentedlines) + '\n'
-
-def _helpmessage(continuecmd, abortcmd):
-    msg = _('To continue:    %s\n'
-            'To abort:       %s') % (continuecmd, abortcmd)
-    return _commentlines(msg)
-
-def _rebasemsg():
-    return _helpmessage('hg rebase --continue', 'hg rebase --abort')
-
-def _histeditmsg():
-    return _helpmessage('hg histedit --continue', 'hg histedit --abort')
-
-def _unshelvemsg():
-    return _helpmessage('hg unshelve --continue', 'hg unshelve --abort')
-
-def _graftmsg():
-    return _helpmessage('hg graft --continue', 'hg graft --abort')
-
-def _mergemsg():
-    return _helpmessage('hg commit', 'hg merge --abort')
-
-def _bisectmsg():
-    msg = _('To mark the changeset good:    hg bisect --good\n'
-            'To mark the changeset bad:     hg bisect --bad\n'
-            'To abort:                      hg bisect --reset\n')
-    return _commentlines(msg)
-
-def fileexistspredicate(filename):
-    return lambda repo: repo.vfs.exists(filename)
-
-def _mergepredicate(repo):
-    return len(repo[None].parents()) > 1
-
-STATES = (
-    # (state, predicate to detect states, helpful message function)
-    ('histedit', fileexistspredicate('histedit-state'), _histeditmsg),
-    ('bisect', fileexistspredicate('bisect.state'), _bisectmsg),
-    ('graft', fileexistspredicate('graftstate'), _graftmsg),
-    ('unshelve', fileexistspredicate('shelvedstate'), _unshelvemsg),
-    ('rebase', fileexistspredicate('rebasestate'), _rebasemsg),
-    # The merge state is part of a list that will be iterated over.
-    # They need to be last because some of the other unfinished states may also
-    # be in a merge or update state (eg. rebase, histedit, graft, etc).
-    # We want those to have priority.
-    ('merge', _mergepredicate, _mergemsg),
+    cmdhint=_("use 'hg update' to get a consistent checkout"),
+    statushint=_("To continue:    hg update")
+)
+addunfinished(
+    'bisect', fname='bisect.state', allowcommit=True, reportonly=True,
+    statushint=_('To mark the changeset good:    hg bisect --good\n'
+                 'To mark the changeset bad:     hg bisect --bad\n'
+                 'To abort:                      hg bisect --reset\n')
+)
+addunfinished(
+    'merge', fname=None, clearable=True, allowcommit=True,
+    cmdmsg=_('outstanding uncommitted merge'),
+    statushint=_('To continue:    hg commit\n'
+                 'To abort:       hg merge --abort'),
+    cmdhint=_("use 'hg commit' or 'hg merge --abort'")
 )
 
 def getrepostate(repo):
     # experimental config: commands.status.skipstates
     skip = set(repo.ui.configlist('commands', 'status.skipstates'))
-    for state, statedetectionpredicate, msgfn in STATES:
-        if state in skip:
+    for state in _unfinishedstates:
+        if state._opname in skip:
             continue
-        if statedetectionpredicate(repo):
-            return (state, statedetectionpredicate, msgfn)
+        if state.isunfinished(repo):
+            return (state._opname, state.statusmsg())
diff --git a/tests/test-graft.t b/tests/test-graft.t
--- a/tests/test-graft.t
+++ b/tests/test-graft.t
@@ -281,6 +281,7 @@
   
   # To continue:    hg graft --continue
   # To abort:       hg graft --abort
+  # To stop:        hg graft --stop
   
 
 Commit while interrupted should fail:
diff --git a/tests/test-merge1.t b/tests/test-merge1.t
--- a/tests/test-merge1.t
+++ b/tests/test-merge1.t
@@ -44,6 +44,13 @@
   commit: 1 unknown (interrupted update)
   update: 1 new changesets (update)
   phases: 2 draft
+Detect interrupted update by hg status --verbose
+  $ hg status -v
+  ? b/nonempty
+  # The repository is in an unfinished *update* state.
+  
+  # To continue:    hg update
+  
 
   $ rm b/nonempty
 
diff --git a/tests/test-mq-qnew.t b/tests/test-mq-qnew.t
--- a/tests/test-mq-qnew.t
+++ b/tests/test-mq-qnew.t
@@ -164,7 +164,8 @@
   0 files updated, 0 files merged, 0 files removed, 1 files unresolved
   use 'hg resolve' to retry unresolved file merges or 'hg merge --abort' to abandon
   (no more unresolved files)
-  abort: cannot manage merge changesets
+  abort: outstanding uncommitted merge
+  (use 'hg commit' or 'hg merge --abort')
   $ rm -r sandbox
 
 hg headers
@@ -243,7 +244,8 @@
   0 files updated, 0 files merged, 0 files removed, 1 files unresolved
   use 'hg resolve' to retry unresolved file merges or 'hg merge --abort' to abandon
   (no more unresolved files)
-  abort: cannot manage merge changesets
+  abort: outstanding uncommitted merge
+  (use 'hg commit' or 'hg merge --abort')
   $ rm -r sandbox
 
 Test saving last-message.txt
diff --git a/tests/test-rebase-conflicts.t b/tests/test-rebase-conflicts.t
--- a/tests/test-rebase-conflicts.t
+++ b/tests/test-rebase-conflicts.t
@@ -82,6 +82,7 @@
   
   # To continue:    hg rebase --continue
   # To abort:       hg rebase --abort
+  # To stop:        hg rebase --stop
   
 
 Try to continue without solving the conflict:
diff --git a/tests/test-shelve.t b/tests/test-shelve.t
--- a/tests/test-shelve.t
+++ b/tests/test-shelve.t
@@ -1153,7 +1153,8 @@
 -- trying to pull in the shelve bits
 -- unshelve should abort otherwise, it'll eat my second parent.
   $ hg unshelve
-  abort: cannot unshelve while merging
+  abort: outstanding uncommitted merge
+  (use 'hg commit' or 'hg merge --abort')
   [255]
 
   $ cd ..
diff --git a/tests/test-strip.t b/tests/test-strip.t
--- a/tests/test-strip.t
+++ b/tests/test-strip.t
@@ -275,6 +275,7 @@
 ##strip not allowed with merge in progress
   $ hg strip 4
   abort: outstanding uncommitted merge
+  (use 'hg commit' or 'hg merge --abort')
   [255]
 ##strip allowed --force with merge in progress
   $ hg strip 4 --force
diff --git a/tests/test-transplant.t b/tests/test-transplant.t
--- a/tests/test-transplant.t
+++ b/tests/test-transplant.t
@@ -40,6 +40,7 @@
   (branch merge, don't forget to commit)
   $ hg transplant 1
   abort: outstanding uncommitted merge
+  (use 'hg commit' or 'hg merge --abort')
   [255]
   $ hg up -qC tip
   $ echo b0 > b1
@@ -461,7 +462,7 @@
   baz
   foo
 
-test multiple revisions and --continue
+test multiple revisions, --continue and hg status --verbose
 
   $ hg up -qC 0
   $ echo bazbaz > baz
@@ -481,6 +482,15 @@
   abort: transplant in progress
   (use 'hg transplant --continue' or 'hg update' to abort)
   [255]
+  $ hg status -v
+  A bar
+  ? baz.rej
+  ? foo.rej
+  # The repository is in an unfinished *transplant* state.
+  
+  # To continue:    hg transplant --continue
+  # To abort:       hg update
+  
   $ echo fixed > baz
   $ hg transplant --continue
   9d6d6b5a8275 transplanted as d80c49962290