Learn Russian

1. мы пойдем (куда?) в гости - the destination
мы были (где?) в гостях - the location

2. It is pretty straightforward:
Можно мне здесь сесть? or Можно я здесь сяду?
Мне нужно сесть на автобус у станции Октябрьская.
Каждый день я сижу на скамейке и читаю газету.
Давай сядем (or посидим if you are going to take your time) на кухне.

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I would add "Можно присесть?" when you are asking a permission to get seated in somebody's room.

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k1ementina.livejournal.com

"can" вроде означает физическое умение, нет?
Can I sit here? = могу я здесь присесть?
May I sit here? = можно ли мне здесь присесть?
не так?

Каждый день я сижу на скамейке и читаю газету.. это дословно правильно.. но получается, что эти действия однородны, что ли.
Каждый день я читаю газету и сижу на скамейке.
Каждый день я сижу на диване и смотрю телевизор. Каждый день я смотрю телевизор и сижу на диване.
Если бы не было слов "каждый день", то было бы нормально.
Может быть, "Каждый день я читаю газету, сидя на скамейке" было бы лучше.

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I'd like to remind that the working language of this community is English. Thank you.

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It's OK to say that. "Здесь свободно?" would be even better. However, taken literally, your question has slightly narrower meaning. There may be situations when a seat is not occupied but it's not OK to sit down for some reason.

Generally, I would ask "Можно (здесь) присесть?" or "Можно я (здесь) присяду?".

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Присесть is the most colloquial form. You can freely replace it with сесть. Well, in this context, сесть sounds slightly more... assertive maybe. Dunno how to express it more precisely.

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would сесть be a bit closer to "let me sit here", while присесть would be more of a question?

Hmmmm, not exactly. I would say "можно здесь сесть" is a question, and "можно здесь присесть" is even more of a question. There :-)

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I would rather call "присесть" more humble than more polite. Some people may not agree with that. However, "можно мне здесь сесть?" is polite.

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"Присесть" literally means "to sit uncomfortably (and thus) for a short time". It's not colloquial quite the opposite it's a polite form in case when you are asking permission. Same pattern as in "взглянуть" instead of "посмотреть", "прикрыть" instead of "закрыть" or "приоткрыть" instead of "открыть" etc. when asking for a permission. The idea here is that a verb describing an incomplete or a weaker action is more polite than a complete, strong one.

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would "можно мне здесь сесть?" sound too forceful to be polite?

I don't think so.

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It's hard to explain in English, but in Russian when speaking to somebody you can set relative "ranks" for yourself and your audience. Basically you can present yourself as being equal, lower or higher than the audience. When you are using "присесть" you are presenting yourself as being lower and thus it's always polite, if you use "сесть" you present yourself as being equal and it will be polite only with your friends.

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it will be polite only with your friends

That's rather moot. "Сесть" and "присесть" are not that different. Think of them as shades, not colors.

In real life, it's OK to use "сесть". Well, when dealing with a stranger, you precede your question with an address such as "извините", "простите", "прошу прощения" or smth. like that anyway, so you put the communication in a sufficiently polite context beforehand.

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May I ask a question - where did you learn Russian?

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And I just realized that my question may appear rude to you - here is a bit of explanation. From what I've read and seen in movies Russian in rural areas does not have as many levels of politeness as "standard" Russian, it's pretty normal even for children to call some 70 y.o. "ты" for example.

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I am a 30 y.o. native speaker from St. Petersburg. I'm trying try to explain the contemporary use of these words as I hear them used in everyday life and based on my personal "language feel." I do realize there is a difference between "сесть" и "присесть" in that the latter is softer in a way, but not perceive the gap between them as that between politeness and impoliteness. The fact that I personally use "присесть" most of the time is strictly my personal style.

Perhaps our disagreement is just a question of different environments, but then I grew up among literate an educated people and I'm sure you did too...

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Plus if you want be polite with using "сесть" you must add "near you".
Ex: "Могу я сесть рядом с вами?"

Yep, that or "здесь".

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It may be a "polite" (IMO closer to "humble") form yet it definitely IS colloquial.

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http://www.ozhegov.org/words/27118.shtml

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Gee, thanks, I know what this word means. I also know some colloquial uses of this word, one of which (BTW, not mentioned in the dictionary entry cited by you) is discussed above. Or is the "разг." label for you the one and only indicator of what is colloquial?

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The use discussed above is right in the dictionary.

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I'm slightly confused... Are you sure the link you gave is the one you intended? Because there is no mention of using "присесть" as a "polite" or "humble" form of "сесть" there, only the literal meanings of this word.

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Yes, you do seem confused. I gave you the link to Ojigov's definition of the verb "присесть". Nobody but you in this thread ever mentions that it's some kind of polite or humble form of присесть.

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http://community.livejournal.com/learn_russian/801082.html?thread=12457786#t12457786

"Присесть" literally means "to sit uncomfortably (and thus) for a short time". It's not colloquial quite the opposite it's a polite form in case when you are asking permission.

These are your own words.

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Pointing to the whole form "Можно присесть".

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Yes, and I was referring to this very context (hence the talk about use), not to a form of an isolated verb.

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Errrr, just in case you mean that there's no mention of "сесть" in the entry - right there isn't. Anyway, as I said, the entry contains only the literal meanings of the word "присесть".

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ПРИСЕСТЬ, -сяду, -сядешь; -сел, -села; -сядь; сов. 1. Согнув колени, опуститься. П. на корточки. П. от неожиданности. 2. Сесть на короткое время или в недостаточно удобной, спокойной позе. П. к столу. П. на краешке стула. П. перед отъездом (по старому обычаю). || несов. приседать, -аю, -аешь (к 1 знач.) и присаживаться, -аюсь, -аешься. || сущ. приседание, -я, ср. (к 1 знач.).

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yeah forget about that comment, I was talking out of my ass here

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the adjective must be short: "Это место свободно?"
Even better is to ask "Здесь не занято?"

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