控える: avoiding sweet drinks and standing by offstage
Separate restraint over sweet drinks for health from the next presenter waiting at the side of the stage.
Restrained consumption and a waiting presenter
控える (ひかえる) means to refrain or stand by. The drink example identifies restrained consumption; the presenter example identifies a person waiting and the place where they wait.
Health is the purpose of avoiding the drinks. The side of the stage is the next presenter's waiting position. Keep the purpose of restraint separate from the location of standby.
Restraint for health and standby before a turn
「健康のため甘い飲み物を控えている。」 (I am avoiding sweet drinks for my health.) The object of restraint is sweet drinks. 健康のため gives the purpose, without claiming that health improved or specifying a reduction in consumption.
「次の発表者が舞台の袖で控える。」 (The next presenter is standing by at the side of the stage.) The next presenter is standing by at 舞台の袖, the side of the stage. The sentence does not report a completed presentation or a refusal to present.
Use the object or position to identify the sense
甘い飲み物を控えている identifies the drinks being avoided. 次の発表者が控える identifies the next presenter as the waiting person, with the stage-side location. Check what is restrained or who is standing by.
The drink sentence supplies no rule of complete cessation. The presenter's standby is distinct from a completed presentation. Preserve each sentence's purpose or waiting state without adding further results.
What sense of 控える is used for the next presenter at the side of the stage?
Show the answer and why
They are standing by before their turn. This is waiting, distinct from the restraint over drinks in the other example; it reports neither a completed presentation nor a refusal.