Infinitive (imperfective): сіда́ти — "to sit down, to take a seat, to board / get on" Perfective partner: сі́сти — "to sit down, to take a seat, to get on (a train, bus…)" Type: an aspect pair with a present-stem change (сіда- → ся-)
сіда́ти / сі́сти is the verb for the act of sitting down — the moment you go from standing to seated. It is the change-of-state partner of сиді́ти, which is the state of being seated, and the directional partner of встава́ти / вста́ти "to get up." English collapses all three into "sit" ("Sit down!", "He's sitting", "He sat for an hour"), but Ukrainian keeps them sharply apart — and getting them mixed up is the single most common beginner slip. The perfective has a surprising stem: the future is ся́ду, ся́деш (a -д- and a vowel change you'd never guess from сі́сти), while the past is сів / сі́ла. Stress is marked on every form below.
Present tense — regular сіда́ю…
The imperfective present is fully regular first-conjugation off the сіда- stem with the j-glide endings (сіда́ю, сіда́єш…), stem-stressed on -да́- throughout.
| Person | сіда́ти — PRESENT | English |
|---|---|---|
| я | сіда́ю | I sit down / am sitting down |
| ти | сіда́єш | you sit down (sg.) |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | сіда́є | he / she / it sits down |
| ми | сіда́ємо | we sit down |
| ви | сіда́єте | you sit down (pl./formal) |
| вони́ | сіда́ють | they sit down |
Imperfective сіда́ти describes a habit, a repeated action, or one in progress — sitting down every day, or in the middle of doing so.
Щовечора він сіда́є за стіл і пи́ше щоде́нник.
Every evening he sits down at the desk and writes his diary. (Habitual present сіда́є + за + accusative стіл.)
Не сіда́й на цей сті́лець, він зла́маний.
Don't sit on that chair, it's broken. (Negated imperative сіда́й + на + accusative.)
Past tense — сіда́в (impf) vs сів / сі́ла (pf)
The imperfective past is regular: сіда́в / сіда́ла. The perfective past is the short, irregular-looking сів / сі́ла / сі́ло / сі́ли (the -в swallows the stem in the masculine).
| Gender / number | сіда́ти (impf) | сі́сти (pf) |
|---|---|---|
| masculine | сіда́в | сів |
| feminine | сіда́ла | сі́ла |
| neuter | сіда́ло | сі́ло |
| plural | сіда́ли | сі́ли |
Imperfective сіда́в = "was sitting down / used to sit down" (repeated or in progress); perfective сів = "sat down (and stayed seated)" — the single completed act. A one-off "I sat down" is almost always сів.
Він сів на ла́вку й заплю́щив о́чі від уто́ми.
He sat down on the bench and closed his eyes from tiredness. (Perfective сів — one completed act.)
У дити́нстві я ча́сто сіда́ла бі́ля ба́бусі й слу́хала ка́зки.
As a child I often sat down next to grandma and listened to fairy tales. (Imperfective сіда́ла — a repeated past habit; female speaker.)
Future tense
Perfective сі́сти — the simple future (the ся-stem)
The perfective's present-form is its future, and it hides the trickiest stem on this page: ся́ду, ся́деш… (stem-stressed). Neither the infinitive сі́сти nor the past сів prepares you for this ся-/-д- shape — it has to be learned outright.
| Person | сі́сти — FUTURE | English |
|---|---|---|
| я | ся́ду | I'll sit down |
| ти | ся́деш | you'll sit down |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | ся́де | he / she / it will sit down |
| ми | ся́демо | we'll sit down |
| ви | ся́дете | you'll sit down |
| вони́ | ся́дуть | they'll sit down |
Я ся́ду бі́ля вікна́, щоб ба́чити кра́євид.
I'll sit by the window so I can see the view. (Perfective future ся́ду — note the ся-stem.)
Imperfective сіда́ти — both compound futures
The imperfective forms its future analytically (бу́ду + infinitive) or synthetically (the -му form). It frames a repeated or ongoing future sitting-down.
| Person | Analytic (бу́ду + inf.) | Synthetic (-му) |
|---|---|---|
| я | бу́ду сіда́ти | сіда́тиму |
| ти | бу́деш сіда́ти | сіда́тимеш |
| він / вона́ / воно́ | бу́де сіда́ти | сіда́тиме |
| ми | бу́демо сіда́ти | сіда́тимемо |
| ви | бу́дете сіда́ти | сіда́тимете |
| вони́ | бу́дуть сіда́ти | сіда́тимуть |
Відтепе́р я бу́ду сіда́ти за робо́ту о во́сьмій ра́нку.
From now on I'll sit down to work at eight in the morning. (Imperfective future for a new habit.)
Imperative
The imperative is one of the highest-frequency uses of this verb. The imperfective сіда́й / сіда́йте is the warm, welcoming "have a seat, do sit down" you say to a guest; the perfective сядь / ся́дьте is more clipped and direct ("sit down" — to a child, a dog, or firmly). Note the politeness gap.
| Addressee | сіда́ти (impf) | сі́сти (pf) |
|---|---|---|
| ти (informal) | сіда́й | сядь |
| ви (formal / plural) | сіда́йте | ся́дьте |
| 3rd person (let…) | хай / неха́й сіда́є | хай / неха́й ся́де |
Прохо́дьте, сіда́йте, будь ла́ска — ча́ю налива́ти?
Come in, have a seat, please — shall I pour you some tea? (Imperfective сіда́йте — the polite, hospitable invitation.)
Сядь і заспоко́йся, ми все́ ви́рішимо.
Sit down and calm down, we'll sort everything out. (Perfective сядь — direct, urgent.)
Participles and verbal adverbs
| Form | сіда́ти / сі́сти |
|---|---|
| imperfective verbal adverb | сіда́ючи "(while) sitting down" |
| perfective verbal adverb | сі́вши "having sat down" |
The perfective verbal adverb сі́вши is the more natural of the two — Сі́вши за стіл, вона́ взяла́ся за листи́ "Having sat down at the desk, she got to the letters." Both are (literary / written).
Key uses & case government
1. сіда́ти / сі́сти vs сиді́ти — action vs state
This is the contrast to drill. сі́сти is the movement into a seated position ("take a seat"); сиді́ти is the resulting state ("be sitting"). A duration phrase tells you which: Він сів "He sat down (one moment)" vs Він сиді́в годи́ну "He sat for an hour (state)." Never use сі́сти for a static "is sitting." See сиді́ти.
Він сів на сті́лець і просиді́в там ці́лий ве́чір.
He sat down on the chair and stayed sitting there all evening. (сів = the action; просиді́в = the lasting state.)
2. Directional на / в + accusative — where you sit
Because sitting down is a movement to a place, the destination goes in на / в + accusative (the accusative of direction), never the locative: сі́сти на сті́лець "sit on the chair," сі́сти в крі́сло "sit in the armchair," сі́сти за стіл "sit down at the table." See motion vs location.
Ді́ти посі́дали в коло на килимі́.
The children sat down in a circle on the rug. (Directional — в + accusative коло.)
3. The boarding sense — сі́сти на + accusative transport
Getting on a train, bus, plane or tram is сі́сти / сіда́ти на + accusative: сі́сти на по́їзд "to board the train," сіда́ти на авто́бус "to get on the bus." The image is literally "to take a seat onto" the vehicle.
Поспіша́й, ми ма́ємо сі́сти на оста́нній по́їзд до Льво́ва.
Hurry up, we have to catch the last train to Lviv. (Boarding sense — сі́сти на + accusative по́їзд.)
Common Mistakes
❌ Він сіди́ть на стіле́ць.
State/action mix-up + case — to take a seat use сі́сти (action) with the accusative of direction: Він сіда́є / сі́в на сті́лець. (сиді́ти is the static state and takes the locative на стільці́.)
✅ Він сів на сті́лець.
He sat down on the chair.
❌ За́втра я ся́ду на ді́єту.
Stem is right, but note the perfective future is ся́ду — learners often write 'сі́сну' or 'сіду́'; the correct form is ся́ду: За́втра я ся́ду на діє́ту.
✅ За́втра я ся́ду на діє́ту.
Tomorrow I'll go on a diet. (Idiomatic сі́сти на діє́ту.)
❌ Сідай на по́їзді, бо запі́знимося.
Boarding takes на + ACCUSATIVE (motion onto), not на + locative: Сіда́й на по́їзд.
✅ Сіда́й на по́їзд, бо запі́знимося.
Get on the train, or we'll be late.
❌ Вона́ сів за стіл і поча́в писа́ти.
Agreement error — the past agrees with gender; a female subject takes сі́ла: Вона́ сі́ла за стіл.
✅ Вона́ сі́ла за стіл і поча́ла писа́ти.
She sat down at the table and began to write.
❌ Сіда́йся, будь ла́ска.
Don't add -ся — сіда́ти is not reflexive: Сіда́й / Сіда́йте, будь ла́ска.
✅ Сіда́йте, будь ла́ска.
Have a seat, please.
Key Takeaways
- сіда́ти / сі́сти = the ACTION of sitting down; сиді́ти is the STATE of being seated. Don't confuse them.
- Present (impf): сіда́ю / сіда́єш / сіда́є / сіда́ємо / сіда́єте / сіда́ють.
- Future (pf): ся́ду / ся́деш / ся́де / ся́демо / ся́дете / ся́дуть — the ся-stem must be memorised.
- Past: сіда́в (impf) vs сів / сі́ла / сі́ло / сі́ли (pf).
- Government: directional на / в / за + accusative (motion to a seat), never the locative.
- Imperative: warm invitation сіда́й! / сіда́йте! vs the clipped сядь / ся́дьте; boarding = сі́сти на + accusative (сі́сти на по́їзд).
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