Drink, Drank or Drunk – What is the Past Tense Of Drink?

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Candace Osmond

Candace Osmond studied Advanced Writing & Editing Essentials at MHC. She’s been an International and USA TODAY Bestselling Author for over a decade. And she’s worked as an Editor for several mid-sized publications. Candace has a keen eye for content editing and a high degree of expertise in Fiction.

The English language seems to have an endless supply of confusing verb forms! But I’m doing my best to demystify them one by one or, in this case, three in one shot!

I’ll tackle the verb “drink” and its past forms, “drank” and “drunk,” so there’s no confusion over how to use them. I’ll also touch on whether “drinked” is a word (spoiler alert: it’s not). Let’s fill up on tips and quench your thirst for grammatical knowledge!

Is It Drank or Drunk: What is the Past Tense Of Drink?

Use “drank” when referring to an action completed in the past to form the simple past tense. and use “drunk” in combination with auxiliary verbs to form present perfect or past perfect tenses.

Here’s my quick tip for how I remember: if you’re using “has,” “have” or “had” in a sentence, you’ll want to use “drunk.” The only exception is when you’re clarifying the state someone is in, like “She is drunk.”

Drink, Drank, Drunk: When to Use Each

Drink Drank or Drunk Usage Rules Examples

“Drink” is the base form of the verb at hand and should be used in the present tense.

  • I drink water every day.

The word “drank” is the past simple tense form of the verb “drink,” which is supposed to indicate a completed action in the past.

  • He drank a cup of tea yesterday.

Then there’s “drunk,” the past participle form of “drink.” You should use it with auxiliary verbs like “have” or “had” as a verb phrase to form the present perfect and past perfect tenses.

  • She has drunk all her coffee.
  • They had drunk the lemonade before we arrived.

Is Drinked a Word?

No, “drinked” is absolutely not a word. I know it looks and sounds like it should be, but I promise it’s not. The correct past simple tense of “drink” is “drank,” and the past participle is “drunk.” Write that down.

Drink Examples in a Sentence

  • I drink coffee religiously every morning.
  • My parents work from home and drink tea during their afternoon break.
  • My daughter drinks water to stay hydrated without me telling her to.
  • We always drink homemade milkshakes on hot summer days.
  • My husband doesn’t drink soda, so he drinks juice instead.

How Do You Use Drank in a Sentence?

Drink Drank or Drunk Usage Rules Examples 2
  • I drank a glass of water before my run this morning.
  • Candace drank her coffee while working on her laptop.
  • We drank wine to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary.
  • My son drank a soda for the first time today and didn’t like it.
  • We drank milkshakes with the kids after our long hike.

How Is Drunk Used in a Sentence?

  • Candace has drunk three cups of coffee today and feels dizzy.
  • The cat had drunk all the milk before I could even refill its darn bowl.
  • Trust me, I’ve drunk enough water to last me a lifetime.
  • The kids have drunk their fair share of soda at the birthday party.
  • My father is in recovery and hasn’t drunk any alcohol in months.

Drink, Drank, Drunk

A simple word can cause a lot of chaos when used incorrectly, so it’s essential to study my guide and understand when and how to use all the forms of the irregular verb drink. I hope my tips were helpful!