In English, we say that an object 'sits'.
Example: The car is sitting outside. The glass sits on the table. The plant sits on the windowsill.
In many different other languages, however, objects 'stand'. (The car is standing outside. The glass stands on the table.) The use of sit with inanimate objects sounds bizarre or comical to speakers of those languages. As if English speakers think objects have literal backsides and are actually 'sitting' like a living thing...like a person on a chair, for example.
My question:
Do you, as a native speaker of English, also see/feel/sense it in that way as well? When you say something like 'The car is sitting outside' or 'The glass is sitting on the table' do you have the sense of the thing actually *sitting* on its bum/butt? Or do you more have the feeling it crouches, or perches, ....or something else?
How do you mentally and emotionally grasp this usage?
When I describe something as "sitting," I don't picture anything seat related. It more has the sense of "it's been set down, so now it's sitting there."
It does sound a bit funny to know that other languages describe things as standing, but it's not too strange. We do sometimes use "standing" to refer to objects if it's the type of thing that can fall over. So, you can "stand a glass upright" so it doesn't roll off the table.
The verb sit has many different meanings/definitions/usages.
One definition is:
- to be located or situated: The house sits well up on the slope.
- to rest or lie (usually followed by on or upon): the glass sits on the table
There seems to be an etymological relationship between the verb sit and the verb set. (the verb set also has a similar usage to that written above)
Also, the verb sit may be part of the word 'situated' which definitely is used to express location/placement.
And those are my best guesses.
Interesting question Berengaria
@Berengaria. Some South African's might use the word sit or stand or sitting or standing when trying to explain where something is located but for me that is not correct. For me it indicates that the person has not been as well educated as I have. I also prefer to keep things simple. It's totally unnecessary to include those words in this context.
@David. In South Africa we would say: Please switch off the lights".
I did however like @Richard's explanation :)
In Danish, only living things can sit. Inanimate objects either stand or lie. It took me some time
to get used to the idea of sitting objects, as in ”a teacup sat on the table”. Using
”sit” this way can seem comical to me if I think of it from a
Danish perspective, because it creates the impression that the
inanimate object is a little person. It seems quite cute.
As regards Danish, ”stand” and ”lie” when used about objects are simply grammatical constructs and I don't associate them with any actual sitting or standing.
In Danish we often say that a town/city lies (Elsinore lies in the north of Zealand).
I would simply say that the car is outside or the glass is on the table.
