fit in
What verb would work best to talk about fitting in, in a social sense?
Also, I know that the article is used with church and school (i.e. Voy a la escuela. never Voy a escuela.) but is that also true of other places of learning; college, university'
44 Answers
But, Tim, that is something different. You are losing the meaning of "never" that way. How would you say it with "never" left in place'
Eddy said:
Redimida said:
Sorry.An example for the first question: When I was in high school I never fitted in.
Just a small correction to your statement.
"When I was in High School,I didn't fit in" would surely be the correct way to say it.
Yes, but that spelling is really just a back-construction from "fixing to." That is, the original slang was "to be fixing to do something," which in speech is variously pronounced as "fin'da," "fidden'da," fitten'da," etc., and some people are using the TT spelling just as a way to represent the pronunication. The expression never came from the verb to fit, but from the verb to fix.
But your point is well taken.
I used to work at the SF Hilton, and there was a black woman from the south who worked with us at the front desk. She spoke more or less standard English to the guests, but reverted to her dialect when speaking to us employees, some of whom were comically at a loss to understand what she was talking about. (Many of the employees came from other parts of the US or other countries.) I sometimes had to translate for them! (Shades of the movie Airplane. "I speak jive!")
Then there is just one more thing that I can add. No one I know would ever say that.
Two countries . . .
Re: James
Actually, I think it's both Southern and African-American. In St. Louis, I heard your version "fin-da" or "fixin' to."
<http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php'term=fittin>
<http://www.cougarboard.com/nologin/message.html'id=2788817>
Anyway, it was just a joke & had nothing to do with the question.
James Santiago said:
I am sorry, but I cannot see how "I too never fit in" is the true past tense, I may be wrong.
It is most certainly the past tense, and no other option is possible given the context ("so I made my own"). What tense would you say it is?
The phrase, however, sounds correct to me.
That's because you've heard other people say it this way, which was my point.
Just answer me James, would you use the phrase "when I was in high school I never fit in" if you were talking about yourself many years ago and you felt that you were an outsider.
Absolutely. In fact, saying "fitted" would sound odd, at least in the US. It sounds overly technical or stuffy.
But I want to emphasize that I'm not saying either way is right or wrong, as they are both currently acceptable. That may change in the future, of course.
Then there is just one more thing that I can add. No one I know would ever say that.
Natasha said:
And in Kentucky:
I'm fittin' to go down thar (ha ha)
Natasha, I think you've got that one wrong. I believe what you are referring to is African-American dialect, and the term they use is "fixing to." When spoken, it is usually abbreviated to "fin'da." It means "preparing to" or "about to."
-What you doin?
-I fin'da make me a mess o' greens.
One of the great things about living in the Bay Area of California is that we have people here from everywhere, all parts of the country and the world, so we get exposed to a wide range of dialect.
I am sorry, but I cannot see how "I too never fit in" is the true past tense, I may be wrong.
It is most certainly the past tense, and no other option is possible given the context ("so I made my own"). What tense would you say it is?
The phrase, however, sounds correct to me.
That's because you've heard other people say it this way, which was my point.
Just answer me James, would you use the phrase "when I was in high school I never fit in" if you were talking about yourself many years ago and you felt that you were an outsider.
Absolutely. In fact, saying "fitted" would sound odd, at least in the US. It sounds overly technical or stuffy.
But I want to emphasize that I'm not saying either way is right or wrong, as they are both currently acceptable. That may change in the future, of course.
And in Kentucky:
I'm fittin' to go down thar (ha ha)
What I hear in Missouri, the land of the aliens 
People use "fit" for the past tense in phrases like the following:
In high school, I never fit in.
The shirt fit fine, but it was the wrong color.
They use "fitted" in construction situations:
The plumber fitted the pipe to the opening.
The door wasn't fitted to the frame correctly.
James Santiago said:
It's odd that you are finding different words than I do. When I click on the link and search for "would never," I get nothing. But I do find "I too never fit in within any group, so I made my own." This is reply #10. Do you not see this one?
I'm just trying to point out that other Britons do use this form in the past tense, not trying to convince you to use it. I understand that you prefer not to use it, and that's fine, since both forms are correct.
I am sorry, but I cannot see how "I too never fit in" is the true past tense, I may be wrong. The phrase, however, sounds correct to me. Just answer me James, would you use the phrase "when I was in high school I never fit in" if you were talking about yourself many years ago and you felt that you were an outsider.
It's odd that you are finding different words than I do. When I click on the link and search for "would never," I get nothing. But I do find "I too never fit in within any group, so I made my own." This is reply #10. Do you not see this one?
I'm just trying to point out that other Britons do use this form in the past tense, not trying to convince you to use it. I understand that you prefer not to use it, and that's fine, since both forms are correct.
James Santiago said:
In my technical translations, I always use "fitted" for the past tense (it is not a past participle here, Eddy), but only because it sometimes makes the tense clearer, and technical writing's only purpose is clear communication. In my normal writing and speech, though, I always use "fit" for the past tense, since that is now the most common form. It may be different where you live, though, or it may be a generational difference. Either way, both forms are considered perfectly correct in both the US and the UK. The following is a link to a discussion about fitting in, at a UK website. Search for "never fit in," and you'll see a reply from someone in London who uses this in the past tense.
<http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php't=555949>
James, I did check on your link and found the words "never fit in" used with the conditional tense and future tense, both of which I agree with. I will never fit in, I would never fit in, sound completely natural to me. It is with the past tenses I am querying, ie, used after "when I was in high school I never fit in". doesn´t sound correct, sorry.
In my technical translations, I always use "fitted" for the past tense (it is not a past participle here, Eddy), but only because it sometimes makes the tense clearer, and technical writing's only purpose is clear communication. In my normal writing and speech, though, I always use "fit" for the past tense, since that is now the most common form. It may be different where you live, though, or it may be a generational difference. Either way, both forms are considered perfectly correct in both the US and the UK. The following is a link to a discussion about fitting in, at a UK website. Search for "never fit in," and you'll see a reply from someone in London who uses this in the past tense.
<http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php't=555949>
samdie said:
Eddy said:
"Fit" in this sense after the word "never" sounds just as strange to me. Taking about the past I would say "when I was in high school, I didn't fit in" but to me "I never fit in" conveys the present, but hey, what do I know,hehe
Eddy: You seem to have a deep seated bias against the past tense forms of "strong" verbs. Especially those that are in the process of becoming regularized (that is to say, that both forms [old-fashioned irregular and modernized regular] are being used). I wouldn't go so far as to accuse you of sounding like an "impatient-with-his-elders" teenager but for someone from the (in many respects, linguistically conservative) British Isles. Have you, perhaps, been watching to many imported (from the U.S.) TV programs?
It definitley has nothing to do with American television programmes. I can only tell you what sounds natural to me which is obviously based on my upbringing and the area I am from. "When I was in high school I never fit in" with the word fit used as a past participle doesn't sound correct to me. I cannot explain why but my brain is saying, no way. "Never fitted in" in the same sentence sounds perfectly natural which is why I made the post. If it was a matter that both sounded correct to me, I would never have attempted a correction.
