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What is the difference between sank and sunk?
Which dictionaries include “sank” and “sunk” in the past tense?
Is sunk a past tense conjugation?
When did sink & sunk come out?
While both words refer to something that has descended beneath the surface of a liquid, “sunk” is the past participle of the verb “sink,” while “sunken” is an adjective. Therefore, “sunk” should only be used as a verb, while “sunken” should be used to describe a state or condition.
Feb 15, 2009 · Sank — preterite, as in “He sank my battleship!”. Sunk — past participle, as in “She has sunk the deal.”. Sinking — present continuous, as in “Hey, your boat is sinking!”. But here are the catches that lead to confusion: “Sunk” is often used as a synonym for “sank”. “Sunken” is definitely a synonym for “sunk”.
- What Is The Difference Between Sank and Sunk?
- When to Use Sank
- When to Use Sunk
- Trick to Remember The Difference
- Summary
In this post, I will compare sunk vs. sank. I will use each of these words in at least one example sentence, so you can see them in context. Plus, I will show you a helpful memory tool that you can use to make choosing sunk or sank a little easier.
What does sank mean? Sank is a verb. Specifically, it is the simple past tense form of sink, which means to descend from a high position to a lower one. A ship sinks when it takes on too much water, for instance, and your spirits might metaphorically sink when you realize that your team will lose a match. Here are a few more examples, 1. Sales sank...
What does sunk mean? Sunk is another conjugation of sink. It is a past participle, which means it is used with auxiliary or helping verbs, and it is sometimes used as an adjective. For example, 1. The Titanic took on so much water after hitting the iceberg that it had already sunk by the time rescue boats reached the area. 2. Sunk costs are costs t...
Sank and sunk are two past tense conjugations of the same verb, so it is only natural that many writers get them confused. 1. Sank is the simple past tense form. 2. Sunk is the past participle form. Sank vs. Sunk Check: Sank rhymes with drank, the simple past of drink, and sunk rhymes with drunk, the past participle of drink. By remembering these r...
Is it sank or sunk? Sank and sunk are two conjugations of the verb sink, which means to descend or fall. 1. Sank is the simple past tense conjugation of the verb. 2. Sunk is the past participle. They cannot be interchanged; there are clear usage cases for each tense.
“Sank” is the past tense of “sink” and is used when referring to the act of sinking or causing something to sink in the past tense. “Sunk” is the past participle of “sink” and is used to describe the state of something that has already sunk.
May 24, 2019 · All the current American dictionaries we’ve checked ( Merriam-Webster, M-W Unabridged, American Heritage, and Webster’s New World) include “sank” and “sunk” as standard past tenses. Most British dictionaries consider “sank” the past tense and “sunk” an American variant past tense.
Sank is the past tense (e.g., the ship sank to the bottom of the sea). Sunk is the past participle, so it’s used in the perfect tenses (e.g., the ship has sunk to the bottom of the sea ) and as an adjective ( the sunk ship is at the bottom of the sea ).
Oct 24, 2017 · Oct 24, 2017 at 14:08. Sunk and sank vary as the past tense form of sink, much like shrunk and shrank. It's part of English's loss of inflection. Regular verbs have the past and participle forms with identical -ed suffixes, basically wiping out the distinction; and now they're coming for the irregular verbs. – John Lawler. Feb 18, 2023 at 16:06.
