¿Puedo sentarme aquí?

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Breakdown of ¿Puedo sentarme aquí?

• aquí: here
• sentarse: to sit down
• poder: may

Questions & Answers about ¿Puedo sentarme aquí?

Why is it sentarme and not just sentar?

Because sentarse is a reflexive verb in Spanish.

• sentar usually means to seat someone/something
  
  • Example: Siento al niño en la silla = I seat the child in the chair
• sentarse means to sit down

In ¿Puedo sentarme aquí?, the me means myself, so sentarme literally works like to sit myself down.

After a conjugated verb like puedo, Spanish often attaches the reflexive pronoun to the infinitive:

• Puedo sentarme aquí
• also possible: Me puedo sentar aquí

Both are correct.

What does puedo mean here?

Puedo is the first person singular form of poder, which means can / to be able to.

So:

• puedo = I can
• ¿Puedo...? = Can I...?

It is a very common way to ask permission politely in Spanish.

Why are there question marks at both the beginning and the end?