Questions & Answers about Когда я сижу на диете, я не пью сладкую газировку.
Why does Russian say сижу на диете (literally “I sit on a diet”) instead of something like “я на диете”?
Сидеть на диете is an idiomatic expression in Russian that means “to be on a diet (for some period of time)”.
- Literally: сидеть = “to sit,” на диете = “on a diet.”
- Idiomatically: it describes being in a state of following a diet (usually for some time, with effort or restriction).
You can also say:
- Когда я на диете, я не пью сладкую газировку. – also correct and common.
The version with сижу is a bit more “vivid” and colloquial, suggesting you’re “stuck” in this diet state, similar to Russian idioms like:
- сидеть в тюрьме – to be in prison
- сидеть на игле – to be addicted (literally “sit on the needle”)
So сижу на диете is just a standard idiom, not about physically sitting.
Why is the present tense (сижу, пью) used if this is about a general rule (“when I’m on a diet, I don’t drink…”) and not about right now?