0
Milky Posted 19 years ago
Grammar

fitted or not

Simple question to AE speakers: Can you also use fitted here and get the same meaning? If not, why not? If yes, why?

"Kennedy spontaneously grabbed the housing director (also an Irishman) and Gore and started in on When Irish Eyes Are Smiling. It was almost as painful as when Mike Dukakis put on the helmet, which fit him like a kettledrum, and climbed into the tank for a photo op. Gore didn't know the words but tried to fake it, and that was the least of his problems."
  

Top answer

No, as an AE speaker, I absolutely would NOT use "fitted" in that context. "

— BarbaraPA

  • No, as an AE speaker, I absolutely would NOT use "fitted" in that context.
  • "
Free · every Monday

Get the Weekly English Kit 📬

New words, one handy idiom, and a 2-minute quiz — delivered to your inbox to keep your streak alive.

17 Answers
0
No, as an AE speaker, I absolutely would NOT use "fitted" in that context. Something fits you like I glove, and in the past tense, you say "it fit you like a glove," not "fitted."

I would use "fitted" in something like "The dress has a fitted bodice and a full, sweeping skirt."
0
0
Hi,
one of my dictionaries says:
fit, fitted, fitted - AmE usually -> fit, fit, fit, except in the passive.

Hmm...
0
0
Yes, in the passive.

He was fitted for a new suit. When he got it, it fit perfectly.
0
0
<<Can you also use fitted here and get the same meaning?>>No. It fit him like a ... is the pattern in AmE. It has to do with suitability of clothing with respect to size. But there's another verb fit, usually to fit someone for/with ...: to make fit, to arrange so as to fit. This is the one that has fitted, as already shown in examples above. Yo
0
0
Grammar GeekNo, as an AE speaker, I absolutely would NOT use "fitted" in that context. Something fits you like I glove, and in the past tense, you say "it fit you like a glove," not "fitted."

I would use "fitted" in something like "The dress has a fitted bodice and a full, sweeping skirt."

So you wouldn't use "fitted" as a verb, right?
0
0
<There are also fitted sheets in the U.S. They have already been pre-fitted to different sizes of beds. For example, if you have a king-size bed, you buy the fitted sheets that are labeled 'King'. I made up the beds with the new fitted sheet, and sure enough, it fit.>

But isn't fitted an adjective there?
0
0
Indeed, fitted is an adjective in fitted sheets, just as known is an adjective in known criminal.
The former comes from the transitive verb fit (fitted, fitted) in the same way that the latter comes from the transitive verb know (knew, known).

CJ
0
0
CalifJimIndeed, fitted is an adjective in fitted sheets, just as known is an adjective in known criminal.
The former comes from the transitive verb fit (fitted, fitted) in the same way that the latter comes from the transitive verb know (knew, known).

CJ

Could we say this is the case. in AE?
0
0
No, I'd say that it's simpler than that. As a verb, it's "fit" except in the passive.
0
0
So, GG, you think my example, They fitted the horse for a saddle would be ungrammatical in AmE?

CJ
0

Related Questions