To mourn the loss of the word 'sitting' from English?

[UngratefulMoo]

No one seems to use it these days. It's all, 'I was sat there', 'She was sat down'.... well, no, unless you were forcibly put there or instructed to sit by someone else, I think you'll find you were 'sitting' there.

Where has the word sitting gone, and am I alone, or unreasonable in pining for it?

I have noticed that the same is happening with stood\standing too. If you go over to pedant's corner you will find like minded people.

YANBU drives me nuts

YANBU and in this house we are sitting or standing.

We Americans still use "sitting" (a bit like we also still use "gotten", though I've learned that one really irritates in the UK). I would never say that I am "sat" somewhere. "I was sitting on my favorite chair after I'd gotten out my Kindle".

YANBU. It's the same with taken/took e.g. the children had their school photo took on Monday. Grrr!

YABU, 'cos your hypothesis is wrong - sitting isn't dead, it's sat in the corner sulking.

I've never said sat instead of sitting, never in my long legged life. I'm from NI.

I disagree. There is a subtle difference in meaning between sat and sitting (or at least there is in how I use it).

I would say 'I was sat there....' if I'm also trying to convey a certain degree of annoyance or unwillingness about it. 'I was sat there like an idiot, waiting for her to get back'. Or if the sitting is not the actual point of my story (the other action is. The sitting is incidental).

When I use 'sitting', it's more neutral. 'I was sitting on a deck chair, watching people go by, why what we're you doing?'

If there is a subtle difference in meaning, I think it's legitimate to use a different (even 'wrong', grammatically) word.

I get accused of pedantry all the time by my family but I'm an unusual pedant in that I think of language as a shared tool, used by consensus. Pinning words down to only how YOU think they should be used is futile. Words evolve (which is a good thing). Some come to take on more meaning or a subtle one, others lose it.

I'm happy to accept that perhaps one day, my way of speaking, my grammar or my vocabulary will sound outdated. If sitting becomes archaic, so be it (though it won't stop me using it, forsooth).

YANBU. This annoys me too.

I still use sitting. I didn't realise people didn't. I really need to pay more attention to these things.

Umm SE England and haven't noticed it around here. I just put it down to lack of education if I hear it, my children don't use it.

Is "I was sat" proper English? Genuine question because it doesn't sound right to me.

I don't say that. I say I am sitting on the sofa. Or I was sitting on the sofa after I sat down.

It's the in gs that are missing, keep seeing 'having a play' 'having a pamper'

Cop on folks it's playing and pampering!

I'm with Roly, if DH stole my seat I would say 'I was sat there' or if I was telling him something 'I was sitting by the window when the cat caught a mouse'.

I've no idea why I use them this way.

Sitting is very much alive in my house

YANBU. I love how language changes (great post RolyPolier) but am wary of anything that reduces it, rather than expanding it, that generalises, and loses nuance rather than adding it. So RolyPolier's suggestion that 'I was sat' conveys a certain impatience is a very pleasing distinction from the calmer 'I was sitting' but both must live.

Is "I was sat" a north of England grammar thing that dies out as it crosses the border into Scotland? I don't hear it in Scotland nor in the Home Counties.

If you were sat there it means someone put you there. "I was sat at the table by the waiter."

That's the only time it's acceptable.

And when did "passed" come into the language replacing passed away? I notice it everywhere suddenly.

Yanbu. I love sitting, both the word and the action.

I think YABU unless it's come from the US. Nothing against those in the US, but hearing Americanisms in the UK just shows people spend more time watching TV than interacting with their fellow citizens. (ESOL excepted)

It's so hard to tell though. My grammar nazi radar has been broken since "literally" went haywire...

Agreed that there is a difference in meaning. Sat implies passivity, as someone or something else has sat you there, so yes, that makes sense.

I don't think that's how most people use it though. I think it has become interchangeable with sitting. So I agree with Janetandroysdaughter that as a result we lose a shade of meaning from the language. Which is a shame.

Can 'seated' join the party? In the example above it should be 'I was seated at the table by the waiter'. 'The guests are all seated' means something different from 'The guests are all sitting'.