Questions & Answers about Не сиди у окна: от форточки идёт сквозняк.
Why is it не сиди, not something like не сидеть?
Because не сиди is the negative imperative: it means don’t sit / don’t be sitting.
- сидеть = to sit
- сиди = sit / be sitting (imperative, singular, informal)
- не сиди = don’t sit / don’t stay sitting
Russian usually forms this kind of command with не + imperative form, not with the infinitive.
Why is the verb сидеть used here, not садиться?
This is an aspect/meaning difference:
- сидеть = to be sitting
- садиться = to sit down
So:
- Не сиди у окна = Don’t sit / don’t stay by the window
- Не садись у окна = Don’t sit down by the window
The sentence is warning someone about being in that location, not just about the moment of taking a seat there, so не сиди fits well.
Why is it у окна, not у окно or у окне?