Stink past tense

Meaning of stink

to emit a strong, unpleasant smell.

Infinitive

Word: stink /stɪŋk/

Examples:

1. This garbage really stinks in the hot sun.
2. Your wet dog stinks up the whole room whenever it rains.
3. Overripe fruit stinks and attracts flies.

Past Simple

Word: stank /stæŋk/

Examples:

1. After forgetting the fish in the car overnight, it stank terribly when we found it the next day.
2. The old cheese in the fridge stank up the whole kitchen until we threw it out.
3. He opened the garbage can and immediately regretted it because it stank so bad.

Past Participle

Word: stunk /stʌŋk/

Examples:

1. The garbage has stunk up the entire house since last week.
2. The room had been stunk up by the forgotten leftovers.
3. By the time we arrived, the fish had already stunk up the fridge.

Learn more words on the go

Master verb forms with Promova!

Download the app

Bare infinitive

To describe habitual actions or general truths.
Example. Garbage always stinks if you don't take it out regularly.
Example. This cheese stinks, but it tastes delicious.
To describe a state or situation that is generally true or often repeated.
Example. Garbage always stinks if you don't take it out regularly.
Example. This cheese stinks, but it tastes delicious.

Past Simple

To describe actions or situations that happened at a specific time in the past and are now completed.
Example. The fridge stank because we left the fish inside for too long.
Example. When I opened the old book, it stank of mildew and dust.
To describe a past state or condition.
Example. The fridge stank because we left the fish inside for too long.
Example. When I opened the old book, it stank of mildew and dust.

Past Participle

In perfect tenses (present perfect, past perfect, and future perfect) to describe actions that have a connection to the present, past, or future.
Example. Present Perfect. That movie has stunk ever since it came out ten years ago.
Example. Past Perfect. By the time we remembered the forgotten laundry, the clothes had stunk beyond redemption.
Example. Future Perfect. By the end of the week, this place will have stunk if we don’t clean it now.
Example. The locker room is often complained about; it has stunk for months despite numerous cleanings.
In passive voice constructions to describe actions done to the subject by someone or something else.
Example. Present Perfect. That movie has stunk ever since it came out ten years ago.
Example. Past Perfect. By the time we remembered the forgotten laundry, the clothes had stunk beyond redemption.
Example. Future Perfect. By the end of the week, this place will have stunk if we don’t clean it now.
Example. The locker room is often complained about; it has stunk for months despite numerous cleanings.

Common mistakes

— 01

Confusing forms

A common mistake is using 'stunk' as the past simple form of 'stink' instead of 'stank'. For example, one might incorrectly say, 'It stunk in the room yesterday,' when the correct form is 'It stank in the room yesterday.' Similarly, for the past participle form, some might erroneously use 'stank' instead of 'stunk' in a sentence like 'The room has stank since last week,' which should correctly be 'The room has stunk since last week.'

— 02

'Stinked' as a past form

Another frequent error is the creation of a non-standard past form 'stinked' due to overgeneralization of regular verb Misusing Past Participle (e.g., walk-walked, look-looked). People might say, 'My shoes stinked after the run,' instead of the correct 'My shoes stank after the run.' This mistake arises from not knowing that 'stink' is an irregular verb, which does not follow the simple '-ed' rule for its past forms.

— 03

Misuse in perfect tense

People often incorrectly interchange the past simple and past participle forms in perfect tense constructions, leading to grammatical inaccuracies. For instance, they might say, 'I have stank up the kitchen with burnt food,' instead of the grammatically correct 'I have stunk up the kitchen with burnt food.' This mistake reflects a misunderstanding of how to use the past participle form with auxiliary verbs to form the perfect tenses.

Past tense quiz

Check your skills and find areas for improvement

Take quiz

Frequently asked questions

What is the past simple form of 'stink'?

The past simple form of 'stink' is 'stank'. It is used to talk about smells that were unpleasant in the past. For example, 'The garbage stank because we forgot to take it out.'

What is the past participle form of 'stink'?

The past participle form of 'stink' is 'stunk'. This form is used in perfect tense constructions to talk about actions or states that have a relevance to the present or were completed at some unspecified time in the past. For example, 'The fridge has stunk ever since the power outage last week.'

Can you give an example of a sentence using the past simple form?

Certainly! Here is an example. 'Yesterday, I walked into the kitchen and it stank because of the spoiled milk.' This sentence uses the past simple form 'stank' to describe the state of the kitchen at a specific time in the past.

How can I use the past participle form in a sentence?

The past participle form 'stunk' is often used with auxiliary verbs to form perfect tenses. Here's an example in a sentence. 'I have never encountered a smell that has stunk as much as that decaying fish.' In this sentence, 'has stunk' is part of the present perfect tense, indicating an experience up to the present.