Spanish Verb Sentarse Conjugation

Sentarse is a common reflexive verb that typically means to sit down or to take a seat. Below you will find the conjugations for all the simple tenses of sentarse—present and past in the indicative and subjunctive moods, the conditional, the future, and the imperative. Also listed are the present and past participles, which are used for making the compound tenses.

Sentarse: Reflexive Verb

Sentarse comes from the verb sentar, which usually means to sit. Although both can be translated as "to sit," the difference between the two is that the reflexive form sentarse refers to the act of getting into a seated position, while sentar refers to being in a seated position. One way of remembering the difference is to think of sentarse as literally meaning "to seat oneself," since the -se pronoun in reflexive verbs is usually the equivalent of the English "-self."

Sentarse Conjugation

With two exceptions noted below in the imperative mood, sentarse is formed by using the same conjugation as sentir and adding the appropriate reflexive pronoun. Sentar in turn is conjugated like most other -ar verbs except that the e in the stem sent- becomes ie when stressed. Dozens of other -ar verbs follow this pattern; the most common of them include cerrar (to close), gobernar (to govern), and pensar (to think).

Be aware that the conjugations of sentar and sentir, usually meaning "to feel," overlap in a few instances. For example, siento can mean either "I sit" or "I feel." Nearly all the time, context will make clear which verb is meant.

Present Indicative Tense of Sentarse

Sentarse Preterite

Generally, the preterite is the simple past tense that is used for actions that took place at a specific time. It is usually the equivalent of the English simple past tense typically ending in "-ed" (although "sit" is an irregular verb and doesn't follow that pattern).

Sentarse Future Tense

In addition to being used for talking about future actions, the Spanish future tense, as in English, can be used for extremely emphatic commands. Thus "¡Te sentarás!" can be the equivalent of "You will sit down!" as a command.

Periphrastic Future of Sentarse

The periphrastic future of sentarse and other reflexive verbs can be formed in two ways. The more common, shown below, is to attach the reflexive pronoun to the infinitive. The pronoun can also be placed before the conjugated form of ir. Thus "me voy a sentar" and "voy a sentarme" are interchangeable.

Present Progressive/Gerund Form of Sentarse

The gerund of reflexive verbs can be formed in two ways. The more common way, shown here, is to attach the appropriate pronoun to the gerund. The pronoun can also come before estar or the other verb that comes before the gerund. Thus both "estás sentándote" and "te estás sentando" can be used for "you are sitting down."

Gerund of Sentarse: sentándose

Is sitting down -> Ella está sentándose aquí.

Past Participle of Sentarse

When sentarse and other reflexive pronouns are used with forms of haber, the reflexive pronoun comes before haber.

Participle of Sentarse: se ha sentado

Has sat down -> Ella se ha sentado aquí.

Imperfect Indicative Form of Sentarse

The imperfect is a type of past tense. It doesn't have a direct English equivalent, although it is similar in meaning to expressions such as "was sitting" and "used to sit."

Conditional Form of Sentarse

The conditional form is used to express probability, wonder, or conjecture. It is usually translated in English as would, could, or must have, followed by the verb.

Present Subjunctive of Sentarse

Imperfect Subjunctive Forms of Sentarse

There is usually no difference in meaning between the two forms of the imperfect subjunctive. The first one shown below is used more often and is less formal.

Option 1

Option 2

Imperative Forms of Sentarse

In the positive imperative form of reflexive verbs, the final letter of the base verb is dropped in the "we" and "plural you" forms before the pronoun is attached. Thus nos is added to sentemo (the accent mark is added to the conjugated form to maintain the correct stress). And the -d is dropped from sentad to avoid confusion with the past participle.

Positive Command

Negative Command