sitja (to sit) | Icelandic Grammar

sitja means "to sit" in the sense of being seated — a posture you are already in, not the act of sitting down. That distinction is everything in Icelandic, which keeps three separate verbs apart where English lazily reuses "sit": sitja (be seated, a state), setjast (sit down, a change of posture), and setja (set/put something, a transitive act). sitja is a strong j-verb with the classic i → a → á → e vowel walk, and it is strictly intransitive — you sit, you don't "sit something."

Conjugation

Class: strong, class 5, j-verb (the j surfaces before a/u endings: sitja, sitjum). Auxiliary: hafa — ég hef setið "I have sat."

Principal parts
Infinitive	að sitja
3sg present	situr
3sg past	sat
Supine	setið

Person	Present (nútíð)	Past (þátíð)
ég	sit	sat
þú	situr	sast
hann / hún / það	situr	sat
við	sitjum	sátum
þið	sitið	sátuð
þeir / þær / þau	sitja	sátu

Person	Present subjunctive	Past subjunctive
ég	sitji	sæti
þú	sitjir	sætir
hann / hún / það	sitji	sæti
við	sitjum	sætum
þið	sitið	sætuð
þeir / þær / þau	sitji	sætu

Non-finite & imperative
Imperative (þú)	sit! / sittu (with attached pronoun)
Imperative (þið)	sitið!
Supine	setið
Past participle (m/f/n)	setinn / setin / setið
Middle voice (miðmynd)	setjast ("sit down") — see below

💡

The four shapes are sit (present), sat (past sing.), sátu (past plural, long á), setið (supine, with e). The past plural lengthens to á — við sátum, þeir sátu — while the singular stays short: ég sat. And the supine fronts to e: setið, never sitið in the perfect (ég hef setið).

sitja is a state — you are already seated

The crucial thing English speakers miss: sitja describes the ongoing posture of being seated, not the action of taking a seat. "I'm sitting in the front row," "she sat there all evening," "we were sitting by the window" — all sitja. There is no movement; you are simply in the seated position.

Við sátum úti á svölunum og horfðum á sólsetrið.

We sat out on the balcony and watched the sunset.

Af hverju situr þú í myrkrinu?

Why are you sitting in the dark?

Ég hef setið hér í klukkutíma og beðið.

I've been sitting here for an hour waiting.

sitja vs setjast — being seated vs sitting down

To express the act of sitting down — a change from standing to seated — Icelandic uses the middle-voice verb setjast, not sitja. This is a true minimal pair: sitja = stay seated; setjast = take a seat. "Come in and sit down" is setjast; "she's sitting in the corner" is sitja.

Fáðu þér sæti — setjist bara þarna.

Take a seat — just sit down over there.

Hún settist niður og opnaði bókina.

She sat down and opened the book.

sitja vs setja — and the watch-out transitive

Beware the lookalike setja ("to set, put, place"), a weak verb (setja → setti → sett). It is transitive: you set something somewhere. So setja puts an object down, setjast puts yourself down (it is literally setja + the reflexive -st), and sitja is the resulting state. One stem, three jobs.

Settu lyklana á borðið, ekki týna þeim aftur.

Put the keys on the table, don't lose them again.

sitja við / á — phrasal uses

sitja við = "to sit at" (a desk, a table) and, by extension, "to stick at" work. sitja á + dative = "to sit on" something, or idiomatically "to sit on / withhold" information.

Hann situr við skrifborðið frá morgni til kvölds.

He sits at his desk from morning to night.

Kötturinn sat á gluggakistunni og fylgdist með fuglunum.

The cat sat on the windowsill watching the birds.

Common Mistakes

❌ Komdu inn og sittu niður.

Incorrect — sitting down (a change of posture) is setjast, not sitja

✅ Komdu inn og fáðu þér sæti / sestu niður.

Come in and sit down.

❌ Ég sitti á stól.

Incorrect — the 1sg present is sit, not a regularised *sitti

✅ Ég sit á stól.

I'm sitting on a chair.

❌ Ég hef sitið hér lengi.

Incorrect — the supine fronts to e: setið, not *sitið

✅ Ég hef setið hér lengi.

I've been sitting here a long time.

❌ Sittu bókina á borðið.

Incorrect — putting something down is the transitive setja (setti), not sitja

✅ Settu bókina á borðið.

Put the book on the table.

Key Takeaways

sitja / sit / sat / setið — strong class-5 j-verb; intransitive, a posture, not an action.
Past plural lengthens to sátum / sátu; the supine fronts to setið.
sitja = be seated; setjast = sit down (change of posture); setja (weak, setti) = set/put something.
sitja við = sit at / stick at; sitja á
- dative = sit on.
The whole family shares one root: setja puts a thing down, setjast puts you down, sitja is the result.

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