gesessen

Gesessen is the past participle of the German verb sitzen (to sit). It is used with the auxiliary haben to form perfect tenses (Perfekt, Plusquamperfekt) and denotes a completed act of sitting or a state resulting from sitting. For example, ich habe gesessen means “I have sat” and ich hatte gesessen means “I had sat.” In ordinary speech, gesessen often conveys duration, location, or the result of sitting.

Etymology and form: Gesessen is derived from sitzen with the typical German past-participle pattern ge- + stem + -en. The verb sitzen itself is irregular in the simple past (Präteritum): ich saß, du saßt, er saß, wir saßen, ihr saßt, sie saßen. The participle gesessen, unlike setzen (which yields gesetzt), specifically marks the completed act or state of sitting and is not used to form the present tense.

usage notes: Gesessen can describe a completed period of sitting, often with time expressions or location: ich habe drei Stunden gesessen dort; er hat lange gesessen und nachgedacht. In standard German, gesessen forms are principally found in perfect tenses; the future perfect would be ich werde gesessen haben, though this construction is relatively uncommon in everyday speech. The participle can appear in conjunction with other timing and aspect expressions to indicate duration or result.

Related forms and equivalents: The present tense is sitzen (ich sitze, du sitzt, er sitzt, wir sitzen, ihr sitzt, sie sitzen). The corresponding past tense is saß/saßen. The participle gesessen is analogous to other German participles formed with ge- and -en, and contrasts with the participle of setzen (gesetzt) and liegen (gelegen), reflecting the distinct semantics of sitting versus placing.

Examples: Ich habe drei Stunden gesessen, bis der Bus kam. Bevor er kam, hatte er lange gesessen. Er sitzt gerade am Fenster.