to offer a seat
2
2.3
- phrasal verb
- /ˈɔfər ə sit/
- Would you offer a seat?
Examples
-
When the bus became full, I offered a seat to a mother holding her baby.
-
During the crowded train ride, I kindly offered a seat to the elderly woman standing next to me.
-
At the bus stop, I offered a seat to the elderly man when he looked tired.
-
She always offers a seat to guests as soon as they arrive at her house.
-
When the train was crowded, he offered a seat to the woman carrying a child.
-
Please offer a seat.
-
At the café, she offered a seat to her friend, gesturing towards the empty chair across the table.
Synonyms
212
1.0
Please sit down
54
3.5
To guide people to their seats at events like a theater
35
1.8
To show people where to sit
How Considerate
2
2.3
35
1.8
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'to provide someone with a place to sit' is directly and transparently derived from combining 'offer' (to provide or present) with 'seat' (a place to sit); the determiner 'a' does not alter the compositional meaning. This is a common, literal transitive construction found across languages and should be obvious to a B1 learner who knows the constituent words.
Etymology
Offer a seat comes from the simple act of giving someone your place to sit: you offer your seat by standing up or pointing to a chair so they can 'sit' and 'rest'. That's why it means 'to politely provide someone with a place to sit'.