sitやstandという動詞を私たちは「座る」／「立つ」と覚えています。でも、小説などを読む人は日本語との違いに気づくはずです。というのも主語には「人」ばかりでなく「物」が来る事もあるのです。典型的な例が「自動車が主語になる」場合です。例をあげておきましょう。どちらも「車が停車してあった」という意味です。
(1) “Yes, sir. By the time I tried the
radio knobs, I realized it was cold in there. It's a warm day and the car was sitting in the sun, but it was
cold inside. ...”
-- Stephen King, From a Buick 8
(2) Mr. Weasley's car was standing, empty,
in the middle of a circle of thick trees under a roof of dense branches, its headlights ablaze.
As Ron walked, open-mouthed, toward it, it moved slowly toward him, exactly
like a large, turquoise dog greeting its owner.
-- Rawling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
