Shrink past tense

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Meaning of shrink

to become smaller in size or amount, or to cause something to become smaller.

Infinitive

Word: shrink /ʃrɪŋk/
Examples:
  • 1. The fabric shrinks if you wash it in hot water.
  • 2. My sweater shrinks a little more each time I wear it.
  • 3. The economy shrinks during periods of recession.

Past Simple

Word: shrank /ʃræŋk/
Examples:
  • 1. The sweater shrank after I accidentally washed it in hot water.
  • 2. He shrank back in fear when he saw the spider crawling towards him.
  • 3. The company's profits shrank by 10% in the last quarter.

Past Participle

Word: shrunk /ʃrʌŋk/
Examples:
  • 1. The sweater was accidentally shrunk in the wash.
  • 2. All the clothes have been shrunk to fit the dollhouse better.
  • 3. The document was shrunk to fit on a single page for the presentation.

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Bare infinitive

  1. Habitual actions. For routines or habits that are currently true and happen regularly.
    Example. She shrinks all of her delicate clothes by avoiding hot water during washing.

Past Simple

  1. Completed actions in the past. For actions that started and finished at a specific time in the past.
    Example. He shrunk his favorite sweater last week by washing it in hot water.
    Example. I walked into the laundry room, put the clothes in, and accidentally shrunk my jeans.
    Example. When she was a child, she often shrunk her clothes because she didn't understand laundry settings.
  2. A sequence of actions in the past. When narrating events or actions that happened one after another in the past.
    Example. He shrunk his favorite sweater last week by washing it in hot water.
    Example. I walked into the laundry room, put the clothes in, and accidentally shrunk my jeans.
    Example. When she was a child, she often shrunk her clothes because she didn't understand laundry settings.
  3. Past habits or states. For habits or states that were true in the past but not anymore.
    Example. He shrunk his favorite sweater last week by washing it in hot water.
    Example. I walked into the laundry room, put the clothes in, and accidentally shrunk my jeans.
    Example. When she was a child, she often shrunk her clothes because she didn't understand laundry settings.

Past Participle

  1. Present Perfect Tense. For actions completed at some point in the past but the exact time is not mentioned, affecting the present.
    Example. I have shrunk three of my dresses by mistake this month.
    Example. By the time she noticed, the machine had already shrunk her scarf.
    Example. By tomorrow, they will have shrunk all the donated clothes to pack them into boxes.
    Example. The wool sweater was shrunk during its first wash.
  2. Past Perfect Tense. For actions that were completed before another action or time in the past.
    Example. I have shrunk three of my dresses by mistake this month.
    Example. By the time she noticed, the machine had already shrunk her scarf.
    Example. By tomorrow, they will have shrunk all the donated clothes to pack them into boxes.
    Example. The wool sweater was shrunk during its first wash.
  3. Future Perfect Tense. For actions that will be completed before a specified future time.
    Example. I have shrunk three of my dresses by mistake this month.
    Example. By the time she noticed, the machine had already shrunk her scarf.
    Example. By tomorrow, they will have shrunk all the donated clothes to pack them into boxes.
    Example. The wool sweater was shrunk during its first wash.
  4. Passive Voice. To indicate that an action was done to the subject, often when the doer is unknown or irrelevant.
    Example. I have shrunk three of my dresses by mistake this month.
    Example. By the time she noticed, the machine had already shrunk her scarf.
    Example. By tomorrow, they will have shrunk all the donated clothes to pack them into boxes.
    Example. The wool sweater was shrunk during its first wash.

Common mistakes

— 01

Confusing Forms

A common mistake is using the past simple form ('shrank') when the past participle form ('shrunk') is needed, or vice versa. For instance, in perfect tenses or passive voice, the past participle 'shrunk' should be used.

— 02

Misuse of Past Participle

Some may mistakenly regularize the past participle of 'shrink' by adding -ed, due to confusion with regular verb conjugation patterns. This leads to errors like.

— 03

Misusing Past Simple

In compound verbs, using the past simple form instead of the correct past participle can lead to grammatical errors. This mistake often occurs because of misunderstanding how to form compound tenses.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the past simple form of 'shrink'?

The past simple form of 'shrink' is 'shrank.' It is used to describe an action that happened at a definite time in the past. For example, 'Yesterday, my favorite sweater shrank in the wash.'

What is the past participle form of 'shrink'?

The past participle form of 'shrink' is 'shrunk' or, less commonly, 'shrunken.' 'Shrunk' is typically used in perfect tenses. For example, 'I have shrunk my jeans in the dryer.' 'Shrunken' is used more as an adjective, like in 'a shrunken head.'

How do I use 'shrank' and 'shrunk' in sentences correctly?

'Shrank' is used when you're talking about a past event that happened at a specific time, and you're not linking it to the present. For example. 'The shirt shrank the first time I washed it.' 'Shrunk' is used in perfect tenses, which link the past action to the present. For example. 'The value of the currency has shrunk over the past year.' Remember, 'shrunk' is the form you'd generally use after 'has,' 'have,' or 'had.'

Can 'shrunken' be used in the same way as 'shrunk'?

'Shrunken' is primarily used as an adjective to describe something that has been reduced in size. While 'shrunk' can serve a similar purpose, 'shrunken' is more specific to describing the state of something after the process of shrinking. For example, 'After the wash, my jeans have a shrunken appearance.' It's less common to use 'shrunken' in place of 'shrunk' in perfect tense structures (e.g., 'has shrunken'), although it might be encountered in more formal or traditional English.