setjast (to sit down) | Icelandic Grammar

setjast ("to sit down") is the middle-voice (miðmynd) form of setja ("to put, to set"), and it is one of the most frequently used -st verbs in everyday Icelandic. The -st turns the transitive "put something down" into "put oneself down" — that is, to sit down, to take a seat. The crucial nuance is that setjast is dynamic: it describes the change from standing to seated, the act of lowering yourself. This is what separates it from sitja ("to sit, to be sitting"), which is static — the state of already being seated. You setjast into a chair, and then you situr in it. This page gives the full -st paradigm and drills that change-of-state contrast.

Conjugation

Base verb: setja (weak j-verb, -ti preterite). Voice: middle (miðmynd). Auxiliary: vera — ég er sestur/sest "I have sat down" (middle-voice verbs of motion/change take vera, not hafa, in the perfect; the participle agrees: sestur m., sest f./n.). The -st attaches to setja's stem, so the present singular collapses to sest for all three persons.

Principal parts
Infinitive	að setjast
1sg present	sest
1sg past	settist
1pl past	settumst
Supine	sest

Person	Present (nútíð)	Past (þátíð)
ég	sest	settist
þú	sest	settist
hann / hún / það	sest	settist
við	setjumst	settumst
þið	setjist	settust
þeir / þær / þau	setjast	settust

Person	Present subjunctive	Past subjunctive
ég	setjist	settist
þú	setjist	settist
hann / hún / það	setjist	settist
við	setjumst	settumst
þið	setjist	settust
þeir / þær / þau	setjist	settust

Non-finite & imperative
Imperative (þú)	sestu
Imperative (þið)	setjist!
Supine	sest
Past participle (m/f/n)	sestur / sest / sest

💡

The present singular is invariant sest — ég sest, þú sest, hann sest — because the -st ending absorbs the personal endings. The plural restores them: setjumst, setjist, setjast. Don't try to add a þú-ending: it is þú sest, never *sestur (that form is the participle).

The core meaning: a change of posture

setjast means to move yourself into a seated position — the transition, not the resulting state. There is always an implied "from standing/lying to sitting." This is why it pairs so naturally with directional particles (niður "down," upp "up (in bed)") and with goal phrases in the accusative (setjast í stól "sit down into a chair," setjast við borðið "sit down at the table").

Fáðu þér sæti og sestu hérna hjá mér.

Have a seat and sit down here next to me.

Allir settust niður þegar kennarinn kom inn.

Everyone sat down when the teacher came in.

Við settumst við gluggann svo við gætum séð út.

We sat down by the window so we could see out.

setjast niður — the explicit 'sit down'

Adding niður ("down") makes the downward direction explicit. setjast alone already means "sit down," so setjast niður is mildly redundant but extremely common in speech — it emphasises the act of lowering, much like English "sit down" versus the barer "take a seat."

Geturðu sest niður smástund? Við þurfum að tala saman.

Can you sit down for a moment? We need to talk.

setjast vs sitja — the change of state is the whole point

This is the distinction that defines the verb. Icelandic keeps the dynamic and the static apart with two different verbs, where English overloads "sit":

setjast (middle, -st) = become seated — the action of sitting down. Dynamic, telic, takes a goal in the accusative.
sitja (plain strong verb) = be seated — the state of sitting. Static, takes a location in the dative.

So you setjast í stólinn (accusative — motion into the chair), and once you are there you situr í stólnum (dative — located in the chair). The -st is precisely what marks the change of state. English "I sat down and sat there for an hour" needs two different Icelandic verbs.

Ég settist í sófann og sat þar allt kvöldið.

I sat down on the sofa and sat there all evening. (settist = sat down, dynamic; sat = was sitting, static)

Hún stóð upp, gekk að borðinu og settist.

She stood up, walked to the table and sat down. (a sequence of changes — setjast for the final one)

💡

Use the same diagnostic every time: if the meaning is "move into a seated position," use setjast (with an accusative goal); if it is "be in a seated position," use sitja (with a dative location). The -st on setjast is the change-of-state marker.

Common Mistakes

❌ Ég sit niður.

Incorrect — sitja is static ('be sitting'); to express sitting DOWN (the change), use setjast: ég sest niður.

✅ Ég sest niður.

I sit down.

❌ Við settistum við borðið.

Incorrect — the past PLURAL is settumst, not *settistum (don't insert the singular -ist before the plural -um).

✅ Við settumst við borðið.

We sat down at the table.

❌ Sestu í stólnum.

Incorrect — setjast is motion into the chair, so the goal is accusative: í stólinn, not the locative dative stólnum.

✅ Sestu í stólinn.

Sit down in the chair. — accusative goal: í stólinn.

❌ Hann setti sig niður.

Incorrect — you don't seat yourself with setja + sig; the middle voice setjast already means 'sit oneself down'.

✅ Hann settist niður.

He sat down.

Key Takeaways

sest / settist / settumst / sest — the middle voice of setja, meaning "sit down" (move into a seated position).
The -st marks the change of state: setjast is dynamic (become seated), sitja is static (be seated).
Present singular is invariant sest (ég/þú/hann); plural restores endings: setjumst / setjist / setjast. Past plural is settumst / settust / settust — never settistum.
Goals are accusative (motion): setjast í stólinn, setjast við borðið; the imperative is sestu.
Don't use sitja for "sit down," and don't seat yourself with setja sig — use setjast. The perfect uses vera: ég er sestur/sest.

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