sink
Base form
sink
/sɪŋk/
Past simple
sanksank / sunk
/sæŋk//sæŋk/ /sʌŋk/
Past participle
sunk
/sʌŋk/
MeaningB1
to go down below the surface of water
to sink or swim
In use
- After a modal verb · Form 1Heavy stones will sink to the bottom of the pond.
- Negative · Form 1Don’t worry, this little boat won’t sink.
- Past simple · Form 2Last summer our rubber dinghy sank in the middle of the lake.
- Past simple · Form 2My heart sank when I saw the queue at the airport yesterday.
- Present perfect · Form 3House prices have sunk to their lowest level for years.
- Past perfect · Form 3By the time help arrived, the fishing boat had sunk.
Watch out
Ships sank; they have sunk: the boat has sank → the boat has sunk. Sinked and sanken are wrong.
Same pattern
A — B — CAll three forms differ
Irregular VerbsLearn all three forms for good
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