I'm very confused about the meaning of「Vておく」after watching this
[video](https://youtu.be/cYrqFjPvwSI?t=521).

I usually interpret「Vておく」as "to do something in advance/do in preparation for
future." The speaker in the video mentioned that it is not always true. He
said that「Vておく」actually means to do something and put the results in effect.
I'm not sure how it's different from doing something in advance. He provided
some examples where「Vておく」doesn't mean to do something in advance.

For example,

> 子供を部屋に閉じ込めておくのはひどい。
>
> It's cruel to lock a child in a room.

He mentioned that the「Vておく」in this sentence doesn't mean do something in
advance but do something and leave its effect in place. If I think「Vておく」in
terms of future preparation, I can understand this sentence like this

> It's cruel to lock a child in a room **(to torture the child or
> something)**.

Which of the two interpretations above correct? You can see the second
interpretation directly contradicts the fact that「Vておく」don't always mean to do
something in advance.

Another example,

> 時々赤ちゃんに泣かせておいてもいい。
>
> It's alright to let a baby cry sometimes.

Once again, he mentioned this「Vておく」doesn't mean to cry in advance. But, I can
interpret it in another way. In terms of future preparation, this sentence can
also be rendered as

> It's alright to let a baby cry sometimes **(so that the baby can calm
> down)**.

Should I always interpret「Vておく」as "to something in advance"? More precisely,
does「Vておく」always carry the nuance of preparation for future?
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2021-03-25T22:47:26.873
84773
2021-03-25T23:27:50.317
2021-03-25T22:58:05.983
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question
grammar
What is the true meaning of「ておく」?
There are two meanings for ～ておく、the first of which you have already noted is
do something in preparation for the next action/event.

You can see, for example, [this link](https://www.tomojuku.com/blog/teoku/)
for example sentences.

The second, also in the link above, is to do something and then leave it in
the state. Also recall the common verb ほっとく＝放っておく, which clearly is not the
first usage.

Your interpretations are fine, but you are forced to make an assumption in
order to do so, so it is probably simpler to just understand the example
sentence in your question as the second usage (as your linked video
recommends)
CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-03-25T23:27:50.317
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answer