Breakdown of Der Stuhl ist kaputt. Setz dich nicht darauf!
sein
to be
der Stuhl
the chair
nicht
not
setzen
to set / to sit (someone)
Questions & Answers about Der Stuhl ist kaputt. Setz dich nicht darauf!
Why do we use darauf instead of auf ihn for 'on it', since der Stuhl is masculine?
For inanimate objects like a chair, German uses 'da-compounds' instead of a preposition plus a regular pronoun. Even though der Stuhl is a masculine noun, because it is a thing and not a person, we say darauf (literally 'there-on') instead of auf ihn.
Why is there an r in the middle of darauf?
This compound is made of da plus the preposition auf. Because auf starts with a vowel, German adds an r in the middle to make it flow better when speaking. If the preposition started with a consonant, like von, you would just combine them directly to make davon.
Why does the sentence say Setz dich instead of just Setz?
The verb for 'to sit down' is sich setzen, which is a reflexive verb in German. You are literally telling the person to 'sit yourself'. Since you are giving a command to someone you would address as du, the correct reflexive pronoun is dich.
Why is the verb just Setz without an ending?