How to Use Sit or Sat? (Which is Correct?)

First published on January 21, 2023 by Dalia Y.|Last revised on January 15, 2025

Both the past tense and past participle form of sit are sat. Sit is in the present tense, and sitting is the present participle.

Past Tense Of

How to Use Sit or Sat? (Which is Correct?)

What's the past tense of "sit"?

The simple past tense of sit is sat, and the past participle is also sat. Use sat for both simple past and past participle forms.

Definition of sit

The Oxford English Dictionary defines sit as "to be or remain in that posture in which the weight of the body rests upon the posteriors." It can also mean "to occupy a seat, be seated, sit down, seat oneself; remain, continue; settle, encamp; lie in wait; besiege."

The past tense of sit is sat.

The past participle of sit is sat.

Verb forms of 'sit'

Simple Cont. Perfect Perfect Cont.

Present

I/you/they sit • He/she/it sits

Past

I/you/they sat • He/she/it sat

Future

I/you/they will sit • He/she/it will sit

Present

I am/you are sitting • He/she/it is sitting

Past

I was/you were sitting • He/she/it was sitting

Future

I/you will be sitting • He/she/it will be sitting

Present

I/you have sat • He/she/it has sat

Past

I/you had sat • He/she/it had sat

Future

I/you will have sat • He/she/it will have sat

Present

I have been sitting • He/she/it has been sitting

Past

I had been sitting • He/she/it had been sitting

Future

I will have been sitting • He/she/it will have been sitting

Is "sit" a regular or irregular verb?

Answer: Sit is an irregular verb— its past conjugations are sat in all cases.

Note: Regular verbs end in -ed in the past tense. Any other verb ending is considered irregular.

While an irregular verb, sit shows a highly common verb-conjugation pattern. Similar to other verbs like keep/kept, sleep/slept, and weep/wept, sit uses one form for all past tenses (and in the present perfect).

When to use "sat" (past) vs. "sat" (participle)

He sat in his favorite chair to read.

We had sat there all evening waiting for the storm to pass.

The participle form of a verb (shown in the second sentence) uses the auxiliary verb have as a contraction, had.

When auxiliaries like have or had appear in the same sentence as a past participle verb form, this indicates that the verb's aspect is in the present or past perfect, and not the simple past tense.

Remember, a participle always uses a helper verb to form the complete tense or aspect. Simple tenses, on the other hand, can stand on their own.

Similar irregular verbs

These verbs follow a similar pattern to sit, where the past tense and past participle are the same form.

sit

Past: sat

Past part: sat

Sentence examples: sit, sat, sat

Sit (present tense)

• My grandfather sits in his favorite armchair to read every evening.

• We are sitting in the front row for the concert.

• Please sit down and make yourself comfortable.

Sat (past simple)

• The cat sat on the warm windowsill, watching the birds outside.

• He sat beside her on the park bench.

• As soon as we sat down, she brought us coffee.

Sat (present or past perfect)

• They had sat in that same café for hours, talking and drinking coffee.

• I had sat waiting in the doctor's office for an hour before finally getting up to leave.

• The dog had sat on the bed while I was in the shower.

Synonyms & nearby words

Synonyms for sit

seat perch rest settle occupy position place remain stay dwell

Nearby phrases

sit down sit up sit on sit in sit back sit tight sit around sit out sit on the fence sit on a goldmine

Origin of the word sit

"To be or remain in that posture in which the weight of the body rests upon the posteriors" [OED], Middle English sitten, from Old English sittan "occupy a seat, be seated, sit down, seat oneself; remain, continue; settle, encamp; lie in wait; besiege" from Proto-Germanic *setjan.

Practice: Sit or sat?

FAQs

What's the simple past of sit?

The simple past form of the verb 'sit' is 'sat'. You use this form to talk about an action completed in the past, for instance: "He went and sat beside her."

Is the verb 'sit' regular?

No, 'sit' is an irregular verb. This means its past tense and past participle forms ('sat') do not follow the typical pattern of adding '-ed'.

What is 'sat' also used for?

Besides being the simple past tense, 'sat' is also used as the past participle form of 'sit'. It is often used with auxiliary verbs like "had" in perfect tenses.

How to identify participle form of 'sat'?

You can identify 'sat' as the past participle when it is used with an auxiliary verb, such as "had," often forming the past perfect tense. Example: "The dog had sat on the bed."

Example of 'sat' used in past tense?

Examples include "He sat beside her" or "As soon as we sat down, she brought us coffee." This form shows a completed action in the past.

Sources

Oxford English Dictionary. "sit, v." OED Online. Oxford University Press. Date of access 15 Jan. 2025.
Cambridge Dictionary. "sit." Cambridge University Press. Date of access 15 Jan. 2025.