線路にいる特急

healer · 19 Sep 2022

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I'm surprised that いる instead of ある is used in the above sentence since a train is an inanimate thing.
Is いる for a moving inanimate object as well? That is if the train is moving, then 線路にいる特急. If not moving, then 線路にある特急. If it is, does it apply to all traffic vehicles and the like? Thanks!

Please comment!

mdchachi · 19 Sep 2022

healer said:
FREE Japanese Word of the Day Widget - JapanesePod101

I'm surprised that いる instead of ある is used in the above sentence since a train is an inanimate thing.
Is いる for a moving inanimate object as well? That is if the train is moving, then 線路にいる特急. If not moving, then 線路にある特急. If it is, does it apply to all traffic vehicles and the like? Thanks!

Please comment!

For whatever reason transportation vehicles often get いる, especially if there is a driver associated with it. So a taxi waiting at a taxi stand would probably be referenced by いる but a taxi sitting in a parking lot overnight would probably get ある. Even among Japanese there are inconsistencies in the usage of いる・ある in many situations because it seems to depend on one's viewpoint.

healer · 20 Sep 2022

Thanks for your help!
To be sure of my understanding, I reiterate the point you made. All vehicles, be they private or public, with a driver in them take いる, but ある is also acceptable. It doesn't matter if the vehicle is moving. If no driver in them, they definitely take ある.
Thanks a lot.

Toritoribe · 27 Sep 2022

There is no problem with the following expression.

ゆりかもめが線路にいる。
初代新幹線が鉄道博物館にいる。
ドローンが頭上にいる。

Yurikamome is an automated transit service, i.e., there is no driver in it. The same goes with Shinkansen in a museum and a UAV. いる can be used whether a driver is in the vehicle or not, or whether the vehicle is moving or parking. いる is often used for an inanimate thing that can be considered to move by themselves, like a vehicle, robot, an elevator, etc..

On the other hand, ある has a nuance that the vehicle is parking/is not moving.

healer · 27 Sep 2022

Thanks for your help!
Do some people also use いる for parking?

Toritoribe · 27 Sep 2022

As I already wrote, yes.

Toritoribe said:
いる can be used ... whether the vehicle is moving or parking.

線路にいる特急

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