Be seated vs sit down
Thanh Long To
Hi All,
Tonight I saw a movie on TV. The judge came in and said
"Everyone, be seated!".
Is there any difference between "Be seated" and "Sit down,
please!". Is it because he is a judge he can therefore "order" people
like that without politeness?
A foreigner loving English.
Polar
There's actually nothing rude or impolite about the formula used by
the judge. It is also used by the chairman/woman of a meeting, by a
teacher entering a classroom, and on many similar occasions.
Polar
>
Markus Laker
s.m...@ix.netcom.com (Polar):
> On Mon, 21 Oct 1996 02:24:52 GMT, to...@osu.edu (Thanh Long To) wrote:
>
> > Hi All,
> >
> > Tonight I saw a movie on TV. The judge came in and said
> >"Everyone, be seated!".
> > Is there any difference between "Be seated" and "Sit down,
> >please!". Is it because he is a judge he can therefore "order" people
> >like that without politeness?
>
> There's actually nothing rude or impolite about the formula used by
> the judge.
I would agree, and even go further: 'sit down' is an instruction one
might give to a child or a dog. 'Be seated' is more polite, more of an
invitation than a command.
Markus Laker.
Ralph Shnelvar
to...@osu.edu (Thanh Long To) wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> Tonight I saw a movie on TV. The judge came in and said
>"Everyone, be seated!".
> Is there any difference between "Be seated" and "Sit down,
>please!". Is it because he is a judge he can therefore "order" people
>like that without politeness?
>
> A foreigner loving English.
Wow.
I was going to write a quick answer when I realized that there may be an
anomaly here.
In terms of some sort of rudeness index
Please sit down. is polite.
Please be seated.
Be seated.
Sit down. Most direct (rude).
Sit. Said to a dog.
Anyone else care to comment?
Ralph
G Sumner Hayes
ral...@tesser.com (Ralph Shnelvar) writes:
> In terms of some sort of rudeness index
> Please sit down. is polite.
>
> Please be seated.
>
> Be seated.
>
> Sit down. Most direct (rude).
>
> Sit. Said to a dog.
>
> Anyone else care to comment?
Yes. I'd move "please sit down" below "be seated". So my list would
look like this:
Please be seated/Please have a seat Is polite.
Be seated/Have a seat
Please sit down.
Sit down. Only in very close company
Sit.
"Sit down" or even "sit" might be appropriate in close company; for
instance, I could go get a chair for a friend who is standing and say,
"here, sit." I could even say, "Sit down and stay a while!" It all
depends on context. "Please sit down" strikes me as a cue that I'm
about to be fired or reprimanded. "Please be seated" or "be seated"
are much less intimidating, IMO.
Cordially,
Sumner
Please don't CC: postings to me, my mailbox is already full enough.
jerry thompson
> Sumner wrote:
> >
> >
>
> Please be seated/Please have a seat Is polite.
> Be seated/Have a seat
> Please sit down.
> Sit down. Only in very close company
> Sit.
>
> "Sit down" or even "sit" might be appropriate in close company; for
> instance, I could go get a chair for a friend who is standing and say,
> "here, sit." I could even say, "Sit down and stay a while!" It all
> depends on context. "Please sit down" strikes me as a cue that I'm
> about to be fired or reprimanded. "Please be seated" or "be seated"
> are much less intimidating, IMO.
>
"It is essential that you be seated," (something like that). "Sit down,"
obviously is the plain 'ole imperative.
If all this "be" true, I'd say the former is more stilted than the latter,
which was not the question, but "be" that as it may.
Rob Pegoraro
In article <328ef6a2....@meg.tesser.com>, ral...@tesser.com (Ralph
Shnelvar) wrote:
>I was going to write a quick answer when I realized that there may be an
>anomaly here.
[different ways of inviting somebody to sit down]
I don't quite buy that order. I see a spectrum of polite and formal
"please..." constructions ("Please be seated," "Please, sit," "Please sit
down"), then some more informal phrases ("have a seat," "c'mon, siddown"),
and finally downright harsh ("Sit!" or "Sit your ass down!"). But with any
one of these, verbal inflection will say much more about the degree of
rudeness than the words alone can convey.
ro...@cais.com ====================================================
Rob Pegoraro At work, I'm r...@twp.com, but
Washington, D.C., USA I'm only speaking for myself here
======================================== http://www.cais.com/robp/
Raymot
In article <0mTc8x200...@andrew.cmu.edu>, sum...@CMU.EDU says...>>
>Yes. I'd move "please sit down" below "be seated". So my list would
>look like this:
>
>Be seated/Have a seat
>Please sit down.
>Sit down. Only in very close company
>Sit.
>
>"Sit down" or even "sit" might be appropriate in close company; for
>instance, I could go get a chair for a friend who is standing and say,
>"here, sit." I could even say, "Sit down and stay a while!" It all
>depends on context. "Please sit down" strikes me as a cue that I'm
>about to be fired or reprimanded. "Please be seated" or "be seated"
>are much less intimidating, IMO.
>
>
> Sumner
Of course, it entirely depends on the tone of voice and the
associated gestures:
Said after welcoming a person into your room; accompanied by
an implied "why don't you" and appropriate gestures:
Sit down -- polite.
Said five minutes later after repeated polite efforts to get
the person to sit down, in an impatient voice:
Please sit down -- rude.
Raymot
[[[[[[[[[[[[[
Bob Cunningham
rmot...@powerup.com.au (Raymot) said:
[...]
>Said after welcoming a person into your room; accompanied by
>an implied "why don't you" and appropriate gestures:
In an elementary-Russian class we were taught to say /vAI 'di: tj@/
("vigh dee tya") for "come in". I had to suppress an urge to say
/vAI 'di: tj@ vAI 'doUn tS@/ ("vigh dee tya vhy doncha?").
Markus Laker
s.m...@ix.netcom.com (Polar):
> As to this last, I have seen loads of English movies & TV shows where
> the person in the room says to the person entering: "Sit." I always
> thought it a little odd & abrupt, but if that's the way they do it
> over there...?
A public-school teacher might, just possibly, address a pupil that way;
one certainly wouldn't address a friend so tersely.
Markus Laker.
[Posted and mailed.]
--
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