Thread: Разные вопросы по глаголам (by tiudavidharris

Hello again, could i get help to distinguish the difference between these sentences and also thinking of some situations for usage of these sentences?
я сел на стул = i sat on chair (the action of sitting)
я посидел на стул = i sat on chair./i was seated on chair. (the position of sitting)

these seem to have similar usages. for example, if i was narrating what i did in a room with a chair
perhaps my translations in english as wrong aswell which means the following translations are wrong aswell

я садился на стул = i was sitting on chair (the action of sitting)
я сидел на стул = i was sitting on chair (the position of sitting)

Thanks!

Originally Posted by tiudavidharris

Hello again, could i get help to distinguish the difference between these sentences and also thinking of some situations for usage of these sentences?
я сел на стул = i sat on chair (the action of sitting)
я посидел на стул = i sat on chair./i was seated on chair. (the position of sitting)

these seem to have similar usages. for example, if i was narrating what i did in a room with a chair
perhaps my translations in english as wrong aswell which means the following translations are wrong aswell

я садился на стул = i was sitting on chair (the action of sitting)
я сидел на стул = i was sitting on chair (the position of sitting)

Thanks!

1. "я посидел на стул", "я сидел на стул" - one cannot say like that, it is ungrammatical.

2. садиться (imperfective) / сесть (perfective) mean "to sit down": it is the transition from the standing position to the sitting position:

"Я садился на стул" is "I was sitting down onto the chair".
"Я сел на стул" is "I have sat down onto the chair".

3. сидеть (imperfective) means "to sit": it is being in the sitting position (a state, not a transition).

"Я сидел на стуле" - I was sitting on the chair. Note: "на стуле" (Prepositional case), since it is not direction, it is static location.

4. посидеть (perfective) is "to sit for a limited time". The same as "сидеть", but it emphasizes the action was limited in its time duration:

"Я посидел на стуле" - I sat on the chair for some short time.