Use shrunk when you want the past participle ('i have shrunk my shirt in the dryer') Shrunken is typically only an adjective ('i left my shrunken shirt in the dryer'). A past participle and simple past tense of shrink. See examples of shrunk used in a sentence. Making short, sudden movements (definition of shrunk from the cambridge advanced learner's dictionary & thesaurus © cambridge university press) To (cause material, clothes etc to) become smaller.
Is “shrank” or “shrunk” always the correct past tense No, “shrank” is the simple past tense (used alone), while “shrunk” is the past participle (used with auxiliary verbs like “have,” “has,” “had,” “is,” “are,” “was,” or “were”). The simple past tense form of “shrink” is “shrank” and the past participle is “shrunk” It should be “honey, i shrank the kids,” not ”honey, i shrunk the kids.” (thanks a lot, disney.) Shrank is the simple past tense of shrink, indicating a reduction that occurred in the past, whereas shrunk serves as the past participle, used in perfect tenses and passives. Shrunk is the past participle of shrink
Collins cobuild advanced learner’s dictionary Contract, shrink, condense, compress, constrict, deflate mean to decrease in bulk or volume Contract applies to a drawing together of surfaces or particles or a reduction of area or length Shrink implies a contracting or a loss of material and stresses a falling short of original dimensions. In casual use, found even in careful speech, interchangeable with shrank In careful formal use, only used for past participle i have shrunk , while shrank is used for the past tense i shrank
OPEN
