Do you say sitting down or seating down?

I recently had someone arrive at my website after asking Google the question, “Do you say sitting down or seating down?”

Generally speaking, you’re probably looking for sitting down. Here’s the difference between sitting and seating.

Sitting

Sitting refers to how one sits.

The sitting arrangement will be on the floor rather than on dining chairs.

Seating

Seating refers to how seats are laid out.

The seating arrangement is fan-shaped.

In other words, sitting is what you do and seating is where you do it.

A simple trick for remembering this is the phrase “I sit.” Both words have an I in it, and the phrase describes what you’re doing.

So, again, to answer the visitor’s question, use sitting down.

Which words do you confuse? Let me know in the comments below.

Interested in more grammar tips like this? Sign up for our free weekly newsletter.

By Kim Siever

I am a copywriter and copyeditor. I blog on writing and social media tips mostly, but I sometimes throw in my thoughts about running a small business. Follow me on Twitter at @hotpepper.