At work, if I had to ask someone where exactly they worked, as in where their workspace/cubicle is, what should I say? Is "where do you sit?" the usual thing to say? I'm from India and hear this phrase getting thrown around all the time. But when I look it up in context I get few results.
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As an American, it sounds strange if you know which city somebody works in, and are asking for the address of his workplace. If you know the building, and are asking which office he works in, it sounds fine.– Peter ShorApr 21, 2015 at 12:41
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"Where is your seat"?– KrisApr 21, 2015 at 14:15
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1As others pointed out below, "Where do you sit?" is an optimal question in an open environment. For example, a classroom, where all seats are visible. Or an office where there are not generally cubicles or dividers. In these situations, the question "where do you sit?" is perfectly natural.– BrandinApr 21, 2015 at 17:38
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4 Answers
"Where can I find you?" is generally a safe way to ask.
If you prefer to be specific, "Where do you sit?" or "Where's your desk?" would be fine in an office with an open plan.
If the offices have dividers, you might want to ask, "Where's your cubicle?"
If actual walls, "Where's your room?" might make more sense.
Yes. If you asked that in Australia you would be understood perfectly.
"Where you sit" is definitely not standard in American English, at least not in terms of office or cubicle location.
EDIT- Per ScottM's comment, it occurs to me that the above is not entirely correct. In an open environment, where everybody is visible to everybody else, I can imagine someone looking around and asking, "So, where do you sit?" (slight emphasis on "you"), and you could respond, "Over there". Although I'm not aware of a lot of companies that work this way, I suppose it does happen. END EDIT
It is used in Miles Law:
"Where you stand depends on where you sit."
hjspllc.com
In this context, the expression is used to indicate the fact that different organizations have different outlooks and priorities, and "where you sit" describes the organization you belong to.
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As a native speaker of American English, it seems like perfectly standard English to ask, "Where do you sit?", especially if they work while sitting in the same place every day.– ScotMApr 21, 2015 at 16:47
It's perfectly acceptable in South African English.
From the answers given thus far, it seems to be highly variable according to variety of English.
We have seem to have not acceptable in American English, except in highly specific contexts, and acceptable in Australian, South African and Indian Englishes.
This suggests that it might be a British/Commonwealth English thing.
