Irregular verb in English, the past tense of Drink: Drink - Drank - Drunk

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The verb “Drink” is commonly used in everyday English, but since it’s an irregular verb, its past tense and past participle forms don’t follow the typical "-ed" pattern. In this guide, you’ll learn how to use the past tense of Drink correctly across all tenses, explore related phrasal verbs and idioms, and test your knowledge with practice exercises.

I. What is Drink?
II. What are the V0, V2, and V3 forms of Drink? The past tense of Drink in English
III. How to Conjugate the Verb Drink
1. 1. In the tenses
2. 2. In special sentence structures
IV. Phrasal verbs with Drink in English
V. Idioms with Drink in English
VI. Exercise on applying the past tense of Drink with Answers
1. 1. Exercise: Conjugate the verb "Drink" in the following sentences
2. 2. Answer key

I. What is Drink?

Before looking at how the verb is conjugated, it’s important to understand its basic meaning and grammatical role.

Drink is pronounced as /drɪŋk/. “Drink” can be used as both a verb (to consume a liquid) and a noun (a liquid that is consumed).

Meaning	Example
A liquid that can be consumed, including both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages (n)	Would you like a drink?
Alcohol or beverages that contain alcohol (n)	He had too much to drink at the party last night.
To consume liquid through the mouth (v)	I need to drink some water after exercising.

II. What are the V0, V2, and V3 forms of Drink? The past tense of Drink in English

What is the past tense of Drink? V0, V2, and V3 are abbreviations for: Base form, Simple past, and Past participle of Drink. Let’s take a closer look at the V0, V2, and V3 forms of Drink in the table below!

Verb form		Example
V0	Drink /drɪŋk/	I drink wine every morning.
V2	Drank /dræŋk/	I drank wine last night.
V3	Drunk /drʌŋk/	I have drunk wine for three hours.

Drink past tense and past participle are: Drink in past simple is Drank and Drink past participle is Drunk. Therefore, Drink past perfect is Had Drunk.

What are the V0, V2, and V3 forms of Drink?

III. How to Conjugate the Verb Drink

To use the verb “Drink” correctly in both speech and writing, it’s essential to understand how it changes across all 12 English verb tenses. As an irregular verb, “Drink” does not follow standard conjugation patterns, so special attention is needed when forming its past and perfect tenses.

Let’s break this down into two key parts:

1. In the tenses

To use “Drink” accurately, you need to understand how it fits into each of the 12 verb tenses. For example:

12 tenses in English	I	He/She/It	We/You/They
Present simple tense	drink	drinks	drink
	I drink coffee every morning. He drinks tea in the afternoon. They drink water after exercising.
Present progressive tense	am drinking	is drinking	are drinking
	I am drinking a smoothie right now. He is drinking juice at the party. They are drinking soda while watching a movie.
Present perfect tense	have drunk	has drunk	have drunk
	I have drunk three cups of water today. He has drunk too much soda lately. They have drunk all the juice.
Present perfect progressive tense	have been drinking	has been drinking	have been drinking
	I have been drinking herbal tea for my health. He has been drinking coffee to stay awake. They have been drinking lemonade all summer
Past simple tense	drank	drank	drank
	I drank a glass of water before dinner. He drank a smoothie yesterday. They drank beer at the festival last week.
Past progressive tense	was drinking	was drinking	were drinking
	I was drinking coffee when the phone rang. He was drinking water during the game. They were drinking cocktails at the party.
Past perfect tense	had drunk	had drunk	had drunk
	I had drunk my favorite drink before the meeting started. He had drunk two bottles of water by the time we arrived. They had drunk all the coffee before we got there.
Past perfect progressive tense	had been drinking	had been drinking	had been drinking
	I had been drinking green tea for a month before I switched to coffee. He had been drinking soda daily before he decided to quit. They had been drinking too much alcohol before the party ended.
Future simple tense	will drink	will drink	will drink
	I will drink a cup of tea in the morning. He will drink water after his workout. They will drink juice at the picnic.
Future progressive tense	will be drinking	will be drinking	will be drinking
	I will be drinking coffee when you arrive. He will be drinking soda at the concert. They will be drinking cocktails during the celebration.
Future perfect tense	will have drunk	will have drunk	will have drunk
	I will have drunk all my water by noon. He will have drunk his favorite drink by the time the meeting starts. They will have drunk enough lemonade by the end of the party.
Future perfect progressive tense	will have been drinking	will have been drinking	will have been drinking
	I will have been drinking herbal tea for a year by next month. He will have been drinking coffee for hours by the time we meet. They will have been drinking soda all evening by the time the event ends.

2. In special sentence structures

Additionally, “Drink” appears in a variety of special sentence structures, such as questions, negatives, and conditionals. We’ll walk you through these as well.

Special Structure	I	He/She/It	We/You/They
Conditional Sentences
Second conditional - Main Clause	would drink	would drink	would drink
Second conditional - Main Clause	I would drink more water if I remembered to stay hydrated. She would drink tea instead of coffee if she had the choice. We would drink fresh juice if it were available.
Third conditional - Main Clause	would have drunk	would have drunk	would have drunk
Third conditional - Main Clause	I would have drunk less soda if I had known it was unhealthy. She would have drunk more water if she had remembered. We would have drunk the wine if we had been invited to the party.
Subjunctive
Subjunctive expressing present situation	drink	drink	drink
Subjunctive expressing present situation contrary to fact	drank	drank	drank
Subjunctive expressing past situation contrary to fact	had drunk	had drunk	had drunk
Example	If I drink too much coffee, I feel jittery. If she drank more water, she would have clearer skin. If we had drunk coffee instead of tea, we might have stayed awake longer.

IV. Phrasal verbs with Drink in English

Beyond its standard meaning, “Drink” also forms part of several phrasal verbs, which can express entirely different ideas. Examples include:

Phrasal verbs with Drink	Meaning	Example
Drink up	To consume all of a beverage	Tom told Sarah to drink up before they left the restaurant.
Drink in	To look at or absorb something with great interest or enjoyment	Jessica sat on the balcony, drinking in the beautiful sunset.
Drink to	To raise a glass in honor or celebration of someone or something	Mark raised his glass and drank to their friendship
Drink away	To drink alcohol in order to forget sadness or issues	After the breakup, Lisa tried to drink her sorrows away.
Drink down	To consume a liquid, especially quickly	Kevin drank down the medicine in one gulp.

Learning these will help expand your vocabulary and enhance your fluency.

V. Idioms with Drink in English

The word “Drink” also appears in various English idioms that you may encounter in both spoken and written contexts. Some common examples include:

Idioms with Drink	Meaning	Example
Drink someone under the table	To drink more alcohol than someone else without becoming intoxicated.	At the party, Mike managed to drink Tom under the table.
Drink the Kool-Aid	To believe in or support an idea or concept without questioning it.	After the seminar, Sarah seemed to have drunk the Kool-Aid about the new marketing strategy.
A heavy drinker	A person who consumes a large amount of alcohol regularly.	After years of partying, Jake became known as a heavy drinker among his friends.
Drink like a fish	To drink a lot of alcohol.	During college, Laura used to drink like a fish at every party.
Raise a glass	To lift a glass in salute or celebration of someone or something.	At the wedding, everyone raised a glass to celebrate the couple’s happiness.

Understanding these idioms will make your English sound more natural and native-like.

VI. Exercise on applying the past tense of Drink with Answers

To test your understanding of how “Drink” changes in the past and past participle forms, try the following exercises. These will also give you a chance to practice the related phrasal verbs and idioms mentioned above. Answers are provided to help you check your progress.

1. Exercise: Conjugate the verb "Drink" in the following sentences

Yesterday, I ___ (drink) a lot of water.
Right now, Jennie ___ (drink) her favorite smoothie.
Jack usually ___ (drink) coffee in the morning.
They ___ (drink) tea together last night.
By next year, we ___ (drink) more responsibly.
If it gets too hot, I ___ (drink) lemonade.
I ___ (drink) a soda when I was at the party.
Lisa ___ (drink) too much during the celebration.
We ___ (drink) sparkling water at dinner yesterday.
John has ___ (drink) too much alcohol lately.

2. Answer key

drank
is drinking
drinks
drank
will have drunk

will drink
drank
drank
drank
drunk

In this lesson, you’ve learned how to correctly use the past tense of Drink in its various forms and contexts. By mastering its irregular conjugation, idiomatic usage, and phrasal structures, you’ll be able to express yourself more accurately and confidently in English. Be sure to follow PREP for more useful tips and lessons on English grammar, vocabulary, and everyday communication!

Chloe

Product Content Admin

Hi I'm Chloe, and I am currently serving as an Product Content Administrator at Prep Education. With over five years of experience in independent online IELTS study and exam preparation, I am confident in my ability to support learners in achieving their highest possible scores.