Sedersi Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Italian

sedersi — to sit down — is one of the verbs you will use every day in Italian. It is a reflexive, irregular -ere verb, and it comes up in conversation, at work and at home. It is the reflexive verb for sitting down, and it is irregular in the present, where the stem changes to sied- in the singular and third-person plural: io siedo, loro siedono. Every form carries a reflexive pronoun, and the passato prossimo is formed with essere, as it is for all reflexive verbs. On this page you will find sedersi in real sentences, grouped by meaning and tense, two short texts that show it in context, the mistakes learners actually make with it, and a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Start with the examples, say them aloud, and then test yourself. The full conjugation tables are on the sedersi conjugation page, and the deep dive into its most practised tense is on the sedersi passato prossimo tense page.

Example sentences with sedersi

In the present tense

  • “Io mi siedo sulla sedia ogni giorno.” — “I sit down on the chair”
  • “Tu ti siedi sulla sedia ogni giorno.” — “You sit down on the chair”
  • “Lui si siede sulla sedia ogni giorno.” — “He sits down on the chair”
  • “Noi ci sediamo sulla sedia ogni giorno.” — “We sit down on the chair”
  • “Voi vi sedete sulla sedia ogni giorno.” — “You sit down on the chair”
  • “Loro si siedono sulla sedia ogni giorno.” — “They sit down on the chair”

In the passato prossimo

  • “Io mi sono seduto sulla sedia questa settimana.” — “I have sat down on the chair”
  • “Tu ti sei seduto sulla sedia questa settimana.” — “You have sat down on the chair”
  • “Lui si è seduto sulla sedia questa settimana.” — “He has sat down on the chair”
  • “Noi ci siamo seduto sulla sedia questa settimana.” — “We have sat down on the chair”
  • “Voi vi siete seduto sulla sedia questa settimana.” — “You have sat down on the chair”
  • “Loro si sono seduto sulla sedia questa settimana.” — “They have sat down on the chair”

In other tenses

The same verb in the imperfect, the future, the conditional, the present subjunctive and the imperative — the tenses that complete the picture. All forms come from the verified tables.

  • “Io mi sedevo sulla sedia una volta.” — “I used to sit down on the chair”
  • “Tu ti siederai sulla sedia domani.” — “You will sit down on the chair”
  • “Lui si siederebbe sulla sedia un giorno.” — “He would sit down on the chair”
  • “È importante che noi ci sediamo sulla sedia.” — “It is important that we sit down on the chair”
  • “Siediti sulla sedia!” — “Sit down on the chair!”

How sedersi is used

The first thing to know about sedersi is its core meaning: to sit down. It is the reflexive verb for sitting down, and it is irregular in the present, where the stem changes to sied- in the singular and third-person plural: io siedo, loro siedono. Every form carries a reflexive pronoun, and the passato prossimo is formed with essere, as it is for all reflexive verbs. In everyday speech it appears most often in the present and the passato prossimo, the two tenses on this page, because most of what we say is either what we do every day or what we have just done. Learn those two tenses first and the rest of the conjugation becomes a matter of adding forms one at a time. The second thing to know is the company sedersi keeps. The present io form is mi siedo, and it pairs naturally with the time words ogni giorno and sempre for habits, and with adesso for what is happening right now. The passato prossimo io form is mi sono seduto, and it pairs with ieri and questa settimana for finished actions. When you learn a verb form, learn its time words with it, and choosing the tense becomes automatic. The third thing to know is what sedersi does not do. It never appears as a bare infinitive after a subject pronoun — after io you need mi siedo, never sedersi. It never takes the wrong auxiliary in the perfect tenses: the passato prossimo is mi sono seduto, built with essere, and the other auxiliary does not belong here. And its participle seduto is given in the masculine singular form in the tables, with agreement depending on the sentence, not on the verb table.

Sedersi in context

Io mi siedo sulla sedia ogni giorno. Tu ti siedi sulla sedia ogni giorno. Lui si siede sulla sedia ogni giorno. Noi ci sediamo sulla sedia ogni giorno. That is a normal part of the routine, and that is why the present of sedersi is the first form worth learning. Each sentence uses a different person, so read them aloud and notice how the form changes — mi siedo, ti siedi, si siede, ci sediamo — while the meaning stays the same: to sit down. Io mi sono seduto sulla sedia questa settimana. Tu ti sei seduto sulla sedia questa settimana. Lui si è seduto sulla sedia questa settimana. Noi ci siamo seduto sulla sedia questa settimana. That was a normal day, but it is exactly on days like this that the passato prossimo of sedersi appears constantly: a finished action, a precise moment, and the story goes on. Compare these sentences with the present ones above: the verb changes tense, but the basic meaning — to sit down — does not change. That is the difference between a habit and a finished event.

Common mistakes

1. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

✗ Wrong: “Io sedersi sulla sedia.”

✓ Right: “Io mi siedo sulla sedia ogni giorno.”

The infinitive sedersi never takes a subject. After io you need the conjugated present form mi siedo.

2. Using the wrong person

✗ Wrong: “Io ti siedi sulla sedia.”

✓ Right: “Io mi siedo sulla sedia ogni giorno.”

ti siedi is the tu form, not the io form. The io form is mi siedo — check the person before you write the form.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

✗ Wrong: “Io mi siedo sulla sedia ieri.”

✓ Right: “Io mi sono seduto sulla sedia questa settimana.”

Ieri points to the past, so use the passato prossimo mi sono seduto here, not the present mi siedo.

4. Mixing up the auxiliary

✗ Wrong: “Io ho seduto sulla sedia.”

✓ Right: “Io mi sono seduto sulla sedia questa settimana.”

sedersi takes essere in the passato prossimo. The io form is mi sono seduto — the other auxiliary never belongs with this verb.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on sedersi across the tenses. Answers with explanations follow each question.

  1. What is the tu form of sedersi in the Present indicative?

    • A) mi siedo
    • B) ti siedi
    • C) si siede
    • D) ci sediamo

  2. What is the io form of sedersi in the Present perfect (passato prossimo)?

    • A) ti sei seduto
    • B) si è seduto
    • C) mi sono seduto
    • D) ci siamo seduto

  3. What is the lui/lei form of sedersi in the Imperfect?

    • A) mi sedevo
    • B) ti sedevi
    • C) ci sedevamo
    • D) si sedeva

  4. What is the noi form of sedersi in the Future?

    • A) ci siederemo
    • B) mi siederò
    • C) ti siederai
    • D) si siederà

  5. What is the tu form of sedersi in the Conditional?

    • A) mi siederei
    • B) ti siederesti
    • C) si siederebbe
    • D) ci siederemmo

  6. What is the io form of sedersi in the Passato remoto?

    • A) ti sedesti
    • B) si sedette
    • C) mi sedetti
    • D) ci sedemmo

  7. What is the noi form of sedersi in the Present subjunctive?

    • A) mi sieda
    • B) ti sieda
    • C) si sieda
    • D) ci sediamo

  8. What is the gerund of sedersi?

    • A) sedendosi
    • B) seduto
    • C) sedersi
    • D) mi siedo

  9. What is the past participle of sedersi?

    • A) sedendosi
    • B) seduto
    • C) sedersi
    • D) mi siedo

  10. What does sedersi mean in English?

  • A) to get dressed
  • B) to call
  • C) to sit down
  • D) to look for

Answer key

  1. B) ti siedi — the correct form is ti siedi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  2. C) mi sono seduto — the correct form is mi sono seduto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  3. D) si sedeva — the correct form is si sedeva. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  4. A) ci siederemo — the correct form is ci siederemo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  5. B) ti siederesti — the correct form is ti siederesti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  6. C) mi sedetti — the correct form is mi sedetti. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  7. D) ci sediamo — the correct form is ci sediamo. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  8. A) sedendosi — the correct form is sedendosi. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  9. B) seduto — the correct form is seduto. The other options are other forms of the same verb.
  10. C) to sit down — the correct form is to sit down. The other options are other forms of the same verb.

Frequently asked questions

What does sedersi mean in English?

sedersi means “to sit down”. You use it whenever you talk about to sit down in Italian, in the present, the past and the future.

Is sedersi regular or irregular?

sedersi is irregular. sedersi is irregular in present, passato-remoto, future, conditional, future-perfect, conditional-perfect, present-subjunctive, imperative-affirmative, imperative-negative — learn those forms as a set.

What are the gerund and past participle of sedersi?

The gerund is sedendosi and the past participle is seduto. The perfect tenses use essere + seduto.

Where can I see the full conjugation of sedersi?

On the sedersi conjugation page — every tense, every person, with tables. The sedersi passato prossimo tense page goes deeper into its most practised tense.

Pronunciation

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for sedersi, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

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