Questions & Answers about Lütfen otur.
Why doesn't otur have any tense or person endings attached to it?
otur is a command (the imperative mood). In Turkish, to tell one person to do something informally, you just use the bare verb root. You get this by dropping the -mak or -mek from the dictionary form of the verb, which in this case is oturmak (to sit).
Since the sentence uses Lütfen (please), is it polite enough to say to a stranger?
Not usually. otur is the informal, singular command. Even with Lütfen, you should generally only use this exact phrase with a friend, a family member, or a child. If you are asking a stranger, a respected elder, or a group of people to sit, you need the formal or plural verb ending, which makes it oturun.
Can I switch the word order and say Otur lütfen?
Yes, you can! Turkish word order is flexible, especially in casual speech. Lütfen otur sounds a bit more standard, but Otur lütfen is also very common and means the exact same thing.
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