Wir bestuhlen den Saal oder lassen ihn leer.

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Breakdown of Wir bestuhlen den Saal oder lassen ihn leer.

• oder: or
• leer: empty
• ihn: it

Questions & Answers about Wir bestuhlen den Saal oder lassen ihn leer.

What does bestuhlen mean? It looks a bit unusual.

Bestuhlen means to provide with chairs / to seat with chairs / to set up chairs in a room or venue.

It comes from der Stuhl (chair) plus the prefix be-, which often makes a verb meaning to provide something with X or to cover/use something with X.

So:

• den Saal bestuhlen = to put chairs in the hall
• einen Raum bestuhlen = to arrange seating in a room

It’s a fairly specific, practical word, often used for events, venues, conference rooms, halls, etc.

Also, it is not related to stehlen (to steal), even though it may look similar at first glance.

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Why is it den Saal and not der Saal?

Because den Saal is the direct object of the verb bestuhlen.

The noun is:

• der Saal = nominative singular
• den Saal = accusative singular

Since bestuhlen is something you do to the hall, the hall is the object:

• Wir bestuhlen den Saal.

This is a standard accusative object.

A quick comparison:

• Der Saal ist groß. = The hall is big.
  Here der Saal is the subject.
• Wir bestuhlen den Saal. = We are putting chairs in the hall.
  Here den Saal is the object.

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Why does the sentence use ihn in the second part?