In part one of this blog I listed a few of the different kinds of things on which one sits. Part two will deal with how we ask or tell people to take a seat.

1. Sedersi – to sit oneself down:

The reflexive verb sedersi is the most literal translation of ‘to take a seat’. Let’s have a look at how it works:

Formal situations – if you want to politely invite a visitor or a guest to take a seat use si sieda (singular), or sedetevi (plural).

Informal situations – to invite a friend or relative to sit down use siediti (singular), or sedetevi (plural).

Here is the conjugation of the verb ‘sedersi’ in the present tense:

For example: ‘sono stanca, adesso mi siedo’ (I’m tired, I’m going to sit down); ‘dopo cena Marco si siede sempre in salotto a guardare la televisione’ (after dinner Marco always sits in the dining room to watch television); at the bar: ‘dove ci sediamo, dentro o fuori?’ (where shall we sit, inside or outside?).

Passato prossimo (present perfect):

For example: ‘Giorgio si è seduto sulla panchina sotto l’albero’ (Giorgio sat on the bench underneath the tree); ‘Lucia si è seduta sull’altalena’ (Lucia sat on the swing); ‘ci siamo seduti al tavolo vicino alla finestra’ (we sat at the table near the window).

2. Accomodarsi – to make oneself comfortable:

Another very common way of inviting people to sit down is by using the reflexive verb accomodarsi (to make oneself comfortable).

Formal situations: if you want to politely invite a visitor or guest to ‘make themselves comfortable’ use si accomodi (singular), or accomodatevi (plural).

Informal situations: to invite a friend or relative to make themselves comfortable use accomodati (singular, pronounced with the accent on ‘co’), or accomodatevi (plural, with the accent on ‘da’).

N.B. with both sedersi and accomodarsi we often add the word pure (accent on ‘u’), e.g. when you enter a restaurant the cameriere (waiter) might lead you to a table and say: si accomodi pure (singular), or accomodatevi pure (plural).