まま

Noun (Basic ㊦ 236)

An already given situation or condition remains unaltered.

Equivalent: As it is; unchanged; undisturbed; leave as is; remain

弟はテレビをつけたまま寝てしまった・しまいました。: My younger brother went to sleep leaving the TV on.
弟はテレビをつけたままにしておいた・おきました。: My younger brother left the TV on.
弟はテレビをつけたままだ・です: My younger brother has left the TV on.
この部屋は昨日のままだ・です。: This room is as it was yesterday.
ここはこのままにしておく・おきます。: I'll leave this place as it is.
テレビがついたままになっている・います。: The TV was turned on and is still on.
帽子を被ったままの学生が教室にいた・いました。: A student who kept his hat on was in the classroom.
電気をつけたまま寝てしまいました。: I fell asleep leaving the light on.
ビールを買ったまま飲まなかった。: I bought beer, but didn't drink it.
聞いたままを友達に話しました。: I told my friend exactly what I heard.
あの人はあれからずっと寝たままだ。: He's been in bed (literally: all along) since then.
高山さんはアメリカへ行ったまま帰らなかった。: Mr. Takayama went to America never to return.
車のエンジンをかけたままにしておいた。: I left the car engine on.
今のままにしておいてください。: Please leave it as it is now.

Formation

(i) Vinformal past	まま
	(電気を)つけたまま	Leaving (the light) on
(ii) Adjective い	まま
	大きいまま	As something is big
(iii) {Adjective な stem/ Noun の}	まま
	不便なまま	Leaving something is inconvenient
	昔のまま	Leaving something as it was

Notes

1. The verb before まま has to be nonpast if the verb is negative as in (1).

a.ドアを閉めないまま出かけてしまった。
I left my house with the door open.

b. さようならの挨拶もしないまま行ってしまった。
She went away without even saying goodbye.

If a verb that precedes ままを is non-vontional, the verb can be nonpast even if the main transitive verb is past, as shown in (2):

a. 言われる/言われたままを払った。
I paid money as I was told to.

b. 思っている/いたままを書いて見た。
I wrote exactly as I felt.

2. When まま is followed directly by a verb (other than する) as in Key Sentence (A) and Example (a), (b) and (e), で can be inserted between まま and the verb. Thus, Key Sentence (A) can be rephrased as follows:

弟はテレビをつけたままで寝てしまった。
Literally: My younger brother left the TV on, and went to sleep. (= My younger brother went to sleep leaving the TV on.)

The difference between the まま version and the ままで version is minimal; the latter sounds more like a coordinate construction as illustrated by the literary translation of (3).

【Related Expressions】

Verb informal nonpast negative まま can be paraphrased using ないで or ずに, as in:

[1]

ドアを閉めないまま/ないで/ずに出かけてしまった。
He left his house with the door open.

The まま version focuses on the unaltered situation, but the ないで/ずに versions focus primarily on the negative aspect of the verb. The translation of the former and the latter are 'He left with the door open' and 'He left without closing the door.', respectively.

(⇨ ないで)