Por favor, siéntate en el sillón y descansa un poco.
Please, sit down in the armchair and rest a bit.
Breakdown of Por favor, siéntate en el sillón y descansa un poco.
en
in
tú
you
y
and
descansar
to rest
un poco
a bit
por favor
please
el sillón
the armchair
sentarse
to sit down
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Questions & Answers about Por favor, siéntate en el sillón y descansa un poco.
Why is siéntate written with an accent mark?
Because it’s the affirmative tú command sienta (from sentarse) with the pronoun -te attached: sienta + te → siéntate. Spanish adds/keeps an accent in many attached-pronoun commands to preserve the original stress (pronunciation). Without the accent (sientate) it would be stressed differently and is considered incorrect.
What verb is siéntate coming from, and why does it change to sienta?
It comes from sentarse (to sit down, reflexive). The vowel change is a common stem change: e → ie (like sentar → sienta, pensar → piensa). So the command uses the changed stem: siéntate.
Why is -te attached to the verb? What does it mean?
-te is the reflexive pronoun for tú. With sentarse, you “sit yourself down,” so Spanish uses a reflexive pronoun:
- siéntate = sit down If you remove the pronoun, sienta would mean (you) seat (someone/something), which is different.
Is siéntate informal? How would I say this formally?
Yes, siéntate is a tú (informal) command. Formal options:
- Por favor, siéntese en el sillón y descanse un poco. (usted) In many Latin American contexts, you might also hear vos:
- Por favor, sentate en el sillón y descansá un poco. (vos; common in Argentina, Uruguay, parts of Central America)
Why does it say en el sillón and not a el sillón?
Spanish uses en to express location/position: sit in/on the armchair → siéntate en el sillón.
Using a would emphasize motion toward a place, but with sentarse you normally indicate where you end up seated with en.
What’s the difference between sillón, silla, and sofá?
- sillón: an armchair / comfy chair (often upholstered, with arms)
- silla: a regular chair (dining chair, office chair, etc.)
- sofá: a couch/sofa (seats multiple people)
So en el sillón suggests “take the comfy armchair.”
Why are there two commands: siéntate and descansa?
Spanish often strings simple commands with y (and) in a natural, friendly way:
- Siéntate … y descansa … = Sit down … and rest … Both are tú commands, so they match in form.
Does descansa need an accent like siéntate?
No. descansa is a regular affirmative tú command (same as the present-tense tú form: (tú) descansas → descansa). There’s no attached pronoun, so there’s no accent adjustment needed.
What does un poco mean here? Could I say un ratito instead?
un poco means a little / for a bit. Yes, you can often replace it with:
- un ratito = for a little while (very common, a bit more colloquial)
- un momento = for a moment They all soften the request and make it sound more welcoming.
Why is Por favor at the beginning, and can it go elsewhere?
Por favor can go at the beginning, middle, or end:
- Por favor, siéntate…
- Siéntate, por favor…
- Siéntate… por favor. All are correct; placement mostly affects tone/emphasis.
Why is there a comma after Por favor?
It’s standard punctuation to set off a polite phrase used as a discourse marker. It’s like writing Please, sit down… in English. In casual writing you might see it without a comma, but the comma is recommended.
How would I pronounce siéntate and sillón?
- siéntate: roughly SYEN-ta-te (stress on SYEN)
- sillón: roughly see-YON (stress on the last syllable because of -ón)
In most of Latin America, ll is commonly pronounced like an English y sound (with regional variation).
Could this sentence sound too direct? How can I soften it even more?
It’s already polite with Por favor, but you can soften it further with phrases like:
- Por favor, siéntate en el sillón y descansa un poco, ¿sí?
- Si quieres / Si gustas, siéntate en el sillón y descansa un poco. (If you want / If you’d like)