A group of people are talking about the best way to get rid of a monster in
their town and one of the villagers says this:

> 仕方{しかた}あるまい。この **まま放って{ほうって}おけ** ば村は[全滅]{ぜんめつ}するかもしれん…。

From what I understand, まま means `to leave or stay as is` and ほうっておけば means
`if it's left as it is`. So I'm wondering if both of them are necessary for
this sentence to make sense or they are both put together for emphasis.
Because they seem to be saying the same thing twice.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2012-11-08T02:28:36.090
9368
2020-03-24T13:23:15.120
2020-03-24T13:23:15.120
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question
word-choice
まま +　放る{ほうる} used for emphasis or are they both needed?
まま and 放っておく are quite different in meaning and function. The dictionary
definition is similar in the same way that the dictionary definition for the
English words "Conclusion" and "Finished" are similar.

まま is used in constructions like:

> 開いたまま = Opened and left that way  
>  
>  窓は開いたままでかまいませんか？ = Is the window alright left open? (i.e. does it need to
> be closed?) このままでいいです = It's fine the way it is.  
>  
>  袋に入れましょうか？ Shall I put it in a bag?  
>  いや、このままでいいです。No it's fine the way it is.

放っておく is a construction of the base word ほうる "to abandon" or "to leave alone",
with お meaning roughly, "on purpose/for the future".

In short, they are similar in lexical domain, but very different in usage.
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2012-11-09T05:38:14.380
9387
2012-11-14T11:53:45.613
2012-11-14T11:53:45.613
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answer
A translation should make this clear:

( _このまま_ ) **放っておけば** 村は全滅するかもしれん…。

**If left** ( _to itself / this way_ ), the village would surely go to ruin.

So まま really only means "as it is", only with 放っておけば it composes to "left as
it is".
CC BY-SA 3.0
2012-11-21T15:33:31.687
9532
2012-11-21T15:33:31.687
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answer