Breakdown of Sätt dig på mattan och andas in!
och
and
på
on / at / for (wait for) / in (believe in)
mattan
the rug
sätta sig
to sit down
andas in
to breathe in
Questions & Answers about Sätt dig på mattan och andas in!
Why does this sentence use sätt dig instead of just sitt?
Sitta means "to be seated" (a state), while the reflexive verb sätta sig means "to sit down" (a movement). Because you are telling someone to move into a seated position, you use the imperative of sätta sig, which is sätt dig.
How do we form the imperative for a reflexive verb like sätta sig?
You use the imperative form of the verb and follow it with the reflexive pronoun for "you". The imperative of sätta is sätt. Since you are commanding one person, the pronoun is dig. If you were commanding a group, it would be sätt er!
Why does the verb andas end in an -s? Is it passive?
No, it is not passive. Andas is a "deponent verb"—a verb that always ends in -s but has an active meaning. Other common deponent verbs you might have seen are hoppas (to hope) and minnas (to remember).
Does the verb andas change its form for the imperative?
No, it stays exactly the same. Usually, you form the imperative by dropping the final -a from the infinitive (like sätta becoming sätt). But verbs that end in -as, like andas, keep their full infinitive form when used as commands.
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