I came across this sentence today and it stumped me a little.

> 日本で色々な **場面に合った** 話し方が出来るように、日本に行く前に色々なスピーチレベルの話し方を練習しておいた

The 場面に合った part I’m don’t understand, and why is it in past tense?

Thank you in advance!
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2020-05-19T14:01:34.003
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grammar meaning translation
Could someone please explain the meaning of 場面に合った?
> 場面に合った話し方

This used be 合うべき Old/Middle Japanese べき is translated as 'should'.  
When you think of 'should' is a past tense of 'shall'.

> The way of talking which **should** fit into the situation.

And 場面に合う話し方 isn't too bad, either.
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2020-05-19T23:33:42.280
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場面 is "scene/situation", and 合う is "to match/fit/accord". 場面に合う is "to fit the
situation". Therefore, 場面に合った話し方 is "the way of speaking that fits the
situation", "appropriate way of speaking for each scene", etc.

Regarding this た, it describes not 過去 (past tense) but something called 完了
(perfect aspect). It describes the continuation of the state as a result of an
action. It's the fourth definition of デジタル大辞泉:

> ### た
>
> ４ 動作・作用の結果が存続している意を表す。…ている。…てある。「割れたガラス窓から風が吹き込む」

This type of た is often interchangeable with
[ている](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/3122). Please see the following
related questions:

  * [What are the general principles of using verbs to modify nouns (e.g. 焦げるトースト/焦げたトースト)?](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/11975)
  * ["太ってる猫" vs "太った猫"](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/3361)
  * [Use of かける (N5 question)](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/29671)

合う, as well as its antonym 間違う, is an instant state-change verb. You may know
you can say 合っています ("that's correct") and 間違っています ("that's wrong").

(By the way, the archaic version of this type of た is
[たり](https://www.kotenbunpou.com/%E5%8A%A9%E5%8B%95%E8%A9%9E/%E3%81%9F%E3%82%8A-%E3%82%8A/),
not べし/べき. たる is the attributive form of たり, so 咲きたる桜 in archaic Japanese is
咲いた桜 or 咲いている桜 in modern Japanese.)
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It is basically "Before going to Japan I practiced speaking at various levels
so that I could speak in various situations in Japan."
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