Grammar › Connecting Ideas
まま — “as is, while still”
Describes a state left unchanged — doing one thing without changing another
まま attaches after a past-tense plain verb (or a noun/adjective + の/な) to describe something staying exactly as it was — an action or state left untouched while something else happens. 靴を履いたまま部屋に入った (came into the room with shoes still on) captures “without doing the expected thing first.”
How to form it
| Pattern | Example |
|---|---|
| Past plain verb + まま | テレビをつけたまま寝てしまった — I fell asleep with the TV left on |
| Noun + の + まま | 昔のままの町並み — a townscape unchanged since the old days |
Example sentences
| Japanese | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| エアコンをつけたまま出かけてしまいました。 | えあこんをつけたままでかけてしまいました。 eakonwotsuketamamadekaketeshimaimashita。 | I went out with the air conditioner left on. |
| この部屋は昔のままです。 | このへやはむかしのままです。 konoheyahamukashinomamadesu。 | This room is just as it was in the old days. |
| 靴を履いたまま入らないでください。 | くつをはいたままはいらないでください。 kutsuwohaitamamahairanaidekudasai。 | Please don't come in with your shoes still on. |
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Watch out
まま needs the past plain form even when the meaning feels present or ongoing — つけるまま is wrong; it must be つけたまま (lit. “having turned it on, it stays that way”).