Is this right or wrong

[purpleme12]

The dog was starting to smell, so they give it a wash.

I thought it should be gave? Instead of give?

For me, give is correct if the sentence is in the present tense. Gave if it's in the past tense.

The use of the past continuous shows the dog was starting to smell before it is/was washed.

But I agree it doesn't sound right in the present tense, so I'd probably reword it.

Gave would imply it was done in the past
Give means they are doing it now

That's how I would read it

They gave or they are giving. Not just give!

I agree it should be 'gave'.

Gave

There's no way for that sentence to be grammatically correct, regardless of tense.

Chunkymenrock has it. It is either gave - if they have finished, or are giving, if they're still washing it.

Thank you
I thought so. It was bugging me

The dog was starting to smell, so they gave it a wash
Or
The dog starts to smell, so they give it a wash

Gave.

Makes perfect sense.