～まま

About

～まま can attach to verbs, adjectives, or nouns, and indicates that a given state persists through time or is left "as is".

E.g. このじゃがいも、30分さんじゅっぷんくらい茹ゆでてるのにまだ硬かたいままだ。 "Despite boiling this potato for about 30 minutes, it's still hard."

E.g. 靴くつを履はいたままで大丈夫だいじょうぶですよ。 "You can leave your shoes on."

For the 「(verb1)まま(verb2)」 pattern, まま should indicate a prolonged state that is abnormal or goes against the speaker's expectations of what should happen.

E.g. 昨日きのうは疲つかれていて、電気でんきを点つけたまま寝ねてしまった。 "Yesterday I was tired, and I went to sleep with the lights on."

～まま can be used as an adverb when followed by the に or で particles.

E.g. 鍵がきは開あけたままにしておいてください。 "Please leave it unlocked."

Summary

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  ～ままに indicates that a given state persists through time or is left "as is"

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  ～まま can attach to verbs, adjectives, or nouns

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  ～まま can be used as an adverb when followed by the に or で particles