sit down

Meaning

This phrasal verb means to move your body from a standing position to a sitting position on a chair, bench, or the floor. It can be used as an instruction or to describe the action of taking a seat. While neutral, telling someone directly to 'sit down' can sound demanding, so adding 'please' or using 'have a seat' is often preferred for politeness.

Examples

• Please sit down and make yourself comfortable.

  Please sit down and make yourself comfortable.

• We sat down at the kitchen table to discuss our travel plans.

  We sat down at the kitchen table to discuss our travel plans.

• He was so tired that he had to sit down on the nearest bench.

  He was so tired that he had to sit down on the nearest bench.

• Let's sit down over there where it is a bit quieter.

  Let's sit down over there where it is a bit quieter.

• The teacher asked all the students to sit down and open their books.

  The teacher asked all the students to sit down and open their books.

Common Mistakes

• ✗ Please sit down yourself.

  ✓ Please sit down.

  'Sit down' is not a reflexive verb; you do not need to add 'yourself' after it.

• ✗ I sat down on the chair for two hours.

  ✓ I sat in the chair for two hours.

  'Sit down' describes the action of transitioning from standing to sitting. To describe the continuous state of sitting, use the verb 'sit' (or 'was sitting') instead of the phrasal verb.

Related Expressions

Practice

• Please ___ and enjoy the show!

  💡 Lowercase. Transitioning from standing to a chair.

  Show answer

  sit down

• The host welcomed us and invited us to ___.

  💡 Lowercase. Phrasal verb.

  Show answer

  sit down