Have you ever gotten on a bus, a train, or an airplane and someone else was sitting in your seat? In today’s episode, Andrew and Morag walk you through the vocabulary and phrases you need to handle this awkward situation in a polite and easy manner.

  

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Fun fact

Did you know that assigned seating has been used as far back as Ancient Rome? In the Colosseum, everyone attending an event had a seat assigned by tier, wedge (section), and seat number.

Expressions included in the learning materials

* I’m sorry, but I’m pretty sure you’re sitting in my seat

* I’ll double-check my boarding pass

* I’m glad we sorted that out

* I’m all settled in here, with my bags in the overhead compartment

* I’d rather just stick to my original seat, if you don’t mind

Sample transcript

Andrew:           Welcome back to another Real Talk episode. Real Talk is a series where we take a close look at expressions that are very important for everyday life in an English-speaking country.

Morag:              And in this episode, we are going to learn how to deal with a particularly awkward situation, which is telling someone who is sitting in your seat that they are in the wrong place.

Andrew:           Exactly. Now I’m sure everyone has encountered this. You know, you buy a ticket; it could be a train or bus ticket, or even a ticket for a concert or event. And then you go to your seat, only to find someone else is sitting in your spot.

Morag:              Ugh, I hate that feeling. It’s the worst. So today, we’re going to learn how to deal with that situation, what to say and how to say it.

Andrew:           That’s right. And so today’s plan is that we will start by listening to a dialogue where someone finds that their seat on an airplane is occupied when it shouldn’t be. And then we’ll take a very close look at the vocabulary and expressions that were used to fix this situation.

OK, here’s the dialogue.

Passenger 1:  Excuse me, hi. I’m sorry, but I’m pretty sure you’re sitting in my seat.

Passenger 2:  Um, really? Well, what seat am I in now, 15B? I’m … No, I actually think I’m in the right place.

Passenger 1:  Uh, really? Uh, but here’s my ticket. It says 15B.

Passenger 2:  OK, OK. Let me … I’ll double-check my boarding pass. Oh, it looks like you were right. I’m actually supposed to be in 51B.

Passenger 1:  OK. Well, I’m glad we sorted that out.

Passenger 2:  Well, I mean why don’t you just go sit in my seat, the 51B? I’m all settled in here, with my bags in the overhead compartment and everything.

Passenger 1:  Hmm, yeah. I’d love to help you out, but I’d rather just stick to my original seat, if you don’t mind.

Passenger 2:  Um, yeah. OK, OK.

Andrew:           Morag, have you ever had this situation happen to you, where you’re travelling and you go to find your seat, only to discover that somebody’s already sitting in your spot?

Morag:              Yes, this has happened to me a couple of times. And one time, I had a similarly resistant person in my seat.

Andrew:           Ooh. Ugh, it’s really the worst, isn’t it? I hate that situation. Let’s take just a moment to summarize the dialogue. Two passengers on an airplane are confused about where they are supposed to sit. The male passenger finds that someone is sitting in his seat, so he asks the lady that’s sitting in his seat if she maybe made a mistake and is in the wrong spot.

As it turns out, she did make a mistake and is sitting in the wrong spot. But instead of just quickly apologizing and moving to her original spot,