# EN: seated / sitting



## tamanoir

Quelle différence fait-on entre :
1) She's been sitting here for hours
2) She's been seated here for hours

Merci


----------



## Maître Capello

La 1re phrase est celle que je dirais spontanément  et qui signifie : _Ça fait des heures qu'elle est assise là_.
La 2nde me semble un peu pompeuse et je ne suis pas certain qu'elle soit adéquate dans ce contexte.


----------



## Cristina Moreno

"Seated" me semble plus soutenu que "sitting" comme dans les grandes cérémonies on entend souvent "please be seated" (je n'utiliserai pas "seated", et je te conseille d'employer la seconde)


----------



## Maître Capello

Cristina Moreno said:


> "Seated" me semble plus soutenu que "sitting" comme dans les grandes cérémonies on entend souvent "please be seated"


_To seat_ = _s'asseoir_, _faire asseoir_ ≠ _être assis_ !

On ne peut pas s'asseoir pendant des heures, mais par contre on peut être assis longtemps…


Cristina Moreno said:


> (je n'utiliserais pas "seated", et je te conseille d'employer la seconde, c.-à-d. le premier des exemples de Tamanoir)


----------



## marget

The first sentence seems correct to me. It refers to the action,  sitting.   She's been seated seems to me to be passive voice.  One can be seated by a waiter in a restaurant or by an usher in a theater but that can only happen at a specific moment.  Once seated, one is sitting.


----------



## Montaigne

But it didn't take hours to seat her!
I suggest that if you use "seat" + a period of time, then "she remained seated" would be correct.


----------



## geostan

tamanoir said:


> Quelle différence fait-on entre :
> 1) She's been sitting here for hours
> 2) She's been seated here for hours
> 
> Merci




There is no difference in meaning between the two. But the second one is not very common.


----------



## geostan

marget said:


> The first sentence seems correct to me. It refers to the action,  sitting.   She's been seated seems to me to be passive voice.  One can be seated by a waiter in a restaurant or by an usher in a theater but that can only happen at a specific moment.  Once seated, one is sitting.



There is no action suggested by "sitting." Both refer to states.


----------



## marget

geostan said:


> There is no action suggested by "sitting." Both refer to states.


 
Thanks for the correction. I was trying to make a distinction between sitting and seated. I felt that sitting referred to the voluntary act of sitting down (and the subsequent state) and seated referred to the state, imposed, perhaps, by someone else.


----------



## Avignonais

I think the answer has been given by our experts here. "Seated" is not used because it is _soutenu_, it is pompous, it gives a false vague sense of action

Seated is used by flight attendants and waitresses. So you can envisage using "seated" in a sarcastic situation. For example.

Flight Attendant: "Sir, the captain has said that you are to remain seated for the duration of the flight!" (that's how they talk)

Passenger: "But, Madam, I HAVE been "seated" for hours. Now I have to use the restroom."


----------



## Areyou Crazy

i agree; the first is used more
don't start a ruck on an airplane that sarcastic comment could get you arrested on an american airplane did you see what happened to that american woman who died after getting arrested on the plane!


----------



## trench feature

geostan said:


> There is no difference in meaning between the two. But the second one is not very common.


 
I think there's a big difference.  "She has been seated for two hours" means nothing to me.  It is not only uncommon.  It seems incorrect.


----------



## Maître Capello

trench feature said:


> I think there's a big difference.  "She has been seated for two hours" means nothing to me.  It is not only uncommon.  It seems incorrect.


I'm not a native English speaker so my opinion has little value here  but I definitely agree with you, Trench. IMHO you can _*remain* seated for two hours_ but you cannot _*be* seated for two hours_…


----------



## Areyou Crazy

yes you can!


----------



## Maître Capello

So how come _to seat_ – according to the various dictionaries I've looked into (Merriam-Webster's, TheFreeDictionary, dictionary.reference.com, Harrap's…) – only provide _sit *down*_ (movement → _s'asseoir_) as a possible meaning but never _sit/be sitting_ (position → _être assis_)? The only exception to this seems to be the expression _to remain seated_ (_rester assis_)…


----------



## Areyou Crazy

tu peux trouver n'importe quoi dans un dictionnaire  c'est bien utilisé en angleterre je sais pas aux etats unis!
+++ remain seated is better but we already established , i think, she's been seated here for hours is a bit stuffy
please be seated is what you will hear most of the time if you go to a posh gaffe lol


----------



## geostan

Areyou Crazy said:


> tu peux trouver n'importe quoi dans un dictionnaire  c'est bien utilisé en angleterre je sais pas aux etats unis!
> +++ remain seated is better but we already established , i think, she's been seated here for hours is a bit stuffy
> please be seated is what you will hear most of the time if you go to a posh gaffe lol



But don't use your last example as proof. "Please be seated." refers to the action, not the state. But I do agree that it could be said even though it is not something I would say.


----------



## bloomiegirl

There is nothing wrong with saying that someone has been seated for a period of time. It means that they have been in the sitting position in a certain place for a certain period of time.

The difference between "sitting for 2 hours" and "seated for 2 hours" is very small. I think "seated" focuses more on the location (think of a restaurant - seated for an hour and still no menus), whereas "sitting" emphasizes the position (not standing) of the person.


----------



## Areyou Crazy

that's the differenceEnglish is a language of emphasis you can say it is incorrect to say something but if everybody says the same statement it becomes language that's why English is difficult to become fluent in  I think; IT doesnt matter if its a state or an action lol if 90 percent of people say it it's ok .. I must go answer my phone


geostan said:


> But don't use your last example as proof. "Please be seated." refers to the action, not the state. But I do agree that it could be said even though it is not something I would say.


I don' t see any proof in the statement above either lol

+++ 'please sit ' refers to an action
i may be wrong but ' please be seated' refers to an action and a state other wise we would say please sit
but we want the person to sit down for more than a second so in my opiinion  we are talking about an action and a state it depends on your perception as soon as u use a passive form and it"s not progressive it's a state for me

i refer to my honorouble member


geostan said:


> There is no action suggested by "sitting." Both refer to states.



but then you say it refers to the action not the state


----------



## bloomiegirl

"Been seated for..." is not incorrect, quirky, or faddish. Google shows scads of examples, both old and new. Here's one that I like particularly:

"If you wish to invite a caller to stay to luncheon or dinner, give the invitation as soon as you have exchanged greetings, not after she *has been seated for* some time. In the latter case is appears like an after thought, not, as in the former, as if from a real desire to have the pleasure of her company."   -- The Ladies' Book of Etiquette, and Manual of Politeness: A Complete Handbook, by Florence Hartley (1872), page 79


----------



## Areyou Crazy

oh luncheon ! big mac and fries please! it's like the verb to live 
it has a duration it's an action and its a state???


----------



## Maître Capello

bloomiegirl said:


> "If you wish to invite a caller to stay to luncheon or dinner, give the invitation as soon as you have exchanged greetings, not after she *has been seated for* some time. In the latter case is appears like an after thought, not, as in the former, as if from a real desire to have the pleasure of her company."   -- The Ladies' Book of Etiquette, and Manual of Politeness: A Complete Handbook, by Florence Hartley (1872), page 79


However, since this is _The __Ladies' Book of Etiquette_, it seems quite natural that a gentleman has *seated* the lady. Hence _she has been seated_ seems quite logical there…


----------



## bloomiegirl

Maître Capello said:


> However, since this is _The __Ladies' Book of Etiquette_, it seems quite natural that a gentleman has *seated* the lady. Hence _she has been seated_ seems quite logical there…



On the contrary, the book's audience is women, not men.

Here's a more contemporary example, also from Google:
"It is recommended that fasting should be for a period of 9-12 hours, and blood drawn after the subject *has been seated for* 5 minutes..." -- The Epidemiology of Diabetes Mellitus: An International Perspective, by Paul Z. Zimmet, Jean-Marie Ekoé, et al. (2001), page 288


----------



## Maître Capello

bloomiegirl said:


> On the contrary, the book's audience is women, not men.


I know that. I meant that since this is found in a book about politeness, it would be fair to assume that – in that "ideal" world – men would follow the etiquette as well and hence that ladies would be seated by men…


----------



## bloomiegirl

Maître Capello said:


> I know that. I meant that since this is found in a book about politeness, it would be fair to assume that – in that "ideal" world – men would follow the etiquette as well and hence that ladies would be seated by men…



Nevertheless, the guest has been seated for a long time, probably for a longer time than the fellow with diabetes, who has been seated for five minutes.

That's all for me on this thread.


----------



## Forero

"She has been seated here" is, out of context, most likely to mean that someone has seated her here, but that meaning clashes with "for hours".  After a quick "double take", I catch the intended meaning, and it is obvious that both sentences mean the same thing.

"She has been sitting here" never has that extraneous meaning, even without "for hours", and is more common.  To me, that makes it the preferable way to say what is intended.


----------

