the photographs are sitting/sit

[Vladv1]

My native friend said the following- " The photographs I recovered are sitting in a drawer in my own wallpapered village abode". I always thought that when we talk about things and verbs that are dynamic but denote a state in some meanings (stand, hang, sit) are not used in continuous, so it should be "The photographs I recovered sit in a drawer in my own wallpapered village abode". Please correct me.

 

[teechar]

I'll just simplify your sentence a bit:

A:
It was a miracle that the team recovered 20 of the photographs from the wreckage. They dried and packed them carefully and flew them in a private plane to the Louvre.
Today, those rare photographs sit in a drawer in the museum's archives.

B:
The bitter dispute regarding the ownership of the photos continues. As per the court order, the museum's curator had to surrender them, and now they're sitting in a drawer at Croydon Police Station.

In A, we use the present simple to indicate a (normal/usual) state.
In B, we use the continuous to indicate an ongoing (not the usual) situation.

There are other situations in which the continuous is appropriate. For example:

- Where are the photos?
- They're (sitting) in a drawer in my office.

 

[5jj]

My native friend said the following

What do you mean by 'My native friend'?

- " The photographs I recovered are sitting in a drawer in my own wallpapered village abode".

That is an extremely unnatural sentence.

 

[jutfrank]

You seem to be asking about a special class of verbs that may be called posture verbs (e.g., sit, stand, lie). These verbs are kind of stative in a way, but are commonly and readily used with progressive aspect.

 

[probus]

I find it difficult to imagine a native speaker saying "my own wallpapered village abode." Your friend's diction is very quirky indeed.

 

[Vladv1]

What do you mean by 'My native friend'?

That is an extremely unnatural sentence.

He is a native american speaker born in the US.

 

[emsr2d2]

He is a native [American] English speaker born in the US.

Note that "American" is not a language. He's a native English speaker who speaks the American variant.