Can でいる be used with inanimate objects?


でいる can be analyzed as "stays (in the temporary state) as something", as per
[here](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/66270/what-is-the-
difference-
between-%e3%81%a7%e3%81%84%e3%82%8b-and-%e3%81%a7%e3%81%82%e3%82%8b-in-this-
example). For example:

> 元気 **でいます** 。
>
> I'm doing well (recently).

But notice that the subject of this sentence is an animate object (the
speaker).

**Question:** Can でいる be used with _inanimate_ things?

For example, I recently came across

> **成績も** 今までどおり **トップでいる** ことも大切だ

which seems to suggest that a student's _grades_ (成績) are currently "sitting
in the state of being in the top" (トップでいる). But grades are inanimate objects,
and I thought いる wasn't supposed to be used with inanimate objects?

**Possibilities:**

  1. でいる is meant to be used with animate objects, but 成績 is being "elevated" to having animate status here (for hyperbole or something)?
  2. The sense of いる being used here ("sitting") is completely different from the normal いる ("existence for animate objects"), and so the normal "いる can only be used for animate objects" rule doesn't apply?
  3. The subject of 成績も今までどおりトップでいる isn't actually 成績, but the speaker (who is an animate object). E.g. "Even with respect to my grades, _I_ -- as usual -- am sitting at the top"?




Your third assumption is right. You can interpret it as 自分が成績がトップでいる.

