Simultaneous Actions: …ながら and …たまま

Last time, you learned negative sequential and parallel actions, e.g. “電でん気きを消けさないで寝ねました (I went to bed without turning off the light),” and “私わたしは虫むしが好すきじゃなくて、動物どうぶつが好すきなんです (I didn’t like insects, but animals).” Then, if you want to say, “I went to bed while wearing clothes,” what you should do? In this lesson, you will learn how to express simultaneous actions.

Explanation for the Usage of …ながら and …たまま

Table of Contents
…ながら: Simultaneous Actions
…たまま: Simultaneous Actions Indicating Resultant States

Simultaneous actions mean that two or more actions take place at the same time. When it comes to parallel actions, each action is independent, e.g. “I will eat rice and my mother will eat bread.” However, simultaneous actions have the same subject, e.g. I’m eating rice while eating bread.” In Japanese, we use the key words: …ながら and …たまま to express them. Let’s check how they work.

…ながら: Simultaneous Actions

[私わたしは] テレビを見みながら	宿しゅく題だいを（した / しました）
Sub Action	Main Action
[I] did homework while watching TV.

ながら can express simultaneous actions and be translated as “while” in English. The conjugation is to utilize the polite form and attach ながら instead of ます. The important point here is that you cannot apply the ta-form for the ながら part even if the sentence is in past tense. With this sentence pattern, the ながら part should be a sub action.

歌うたいながら本ほんを（読よむ / 読よみます）。
[I] will read a book while singing.

辞じ書しょを使つかいながら勉べん強きょうして（いる / います）。
[I] am studying while using the dictionary.

泣なきながら（謝あやまった / 謝あやまりました）。
[I] apologized while crying.

話はなしながらご飯はんを食たべて（いた / いました）。
[I] was eating a meal while talking.

You cannot use ながら for actions which take place for a moment like “死しぬ: to die,” and “割われる: to break” because there is no time to simultaneously do main actions. In that case, you need to use the te-form to express sequential actions.

~~ガラスが割れながら大きな音がした~~ 。
=> Wrong!

ガラスが割われて大おおきな音おとが（した / しました）。
The glass broke and it made a big noise.

…たまま: Simultaneous Actions Indicating Resultant States

[私わたしは] 電でん気きをつけたまま	寝ねて（しまった / しまいました）
Sub Action	Main Action
[I] fell asleep with the light still on.

When you use verbs which indicate resultant states in the sub action, you have to use たまま instead of ながら. The conjugation is to attach まま to the end of the ta-form.

立たったままご飯はんを（食たべる / 食たべます）。
[I] will eat a meal while standing.

窓まどを開あけたまま家いえを（出でる / 出でます）。
[I] will leave my house with the window open.

靴くつを履はいたまま家いえに入はいれ（ない / ません）。
[You] can’t enter a house with your shoes on.

服ふくを着きたまま海うみで（泳およいだ / 泳およぎました）。
[I] swam in the sea while wearing clothes.

Japanese people sometimes attach で to たまま. However, this does not change the meaning.

立たったままでご飯はんを（食たべる / 食たべます）。

窓まどを開あけたままで家いえを（出でる / 出でます）。

靴くつを履はいたままで家いえに入はいれ（ない / ません）。

服ふくを着きたままで海うみで（泳およいだ / 泳およぎました）。

In this context, there must be an unreasonable relationship between the main action and sub action. For example, you cannot say, “I went out while wearing clothes,” because it is very reasonable to wear something when you go out. If that is the case, you need to use the te-form to express sequential actions.

~~服を着たまま出かけ（た / ました）~~。
=> Unnatural!

服ふくを着きて出でかけ（た / ました）。
=> [I] put clothes on and went out.

Some particular nouns are allowed to be with たまま when NOT using verbs. In that case, you have to attach の to nouns, i.e. “Nounのまま.” However, this set of nouns is very limited. For example, you can use “服: clothes,” but not “帽子: cap, hat.”

服ふくのまま海うみで（泳およいだ / 泳およぎました）。
[I] swam in the sea while wearing clothes.

帽子のまま（泳いだ / 泳ぎました）。
=> Wrong!

帽ぼう子しをかぶったままで（泳およいだ / 泳およぎました）。
=> [I] swam while wearing the hat.

There is another function. You can use まま like a particle or a suffix, which means something like “as it is” or “as you like.” This is not directly involved with simultaneous actions, but just keep the function in mind.

感かんじたまま話はなして（ください）。
Please tell [us] exactly what you feel.

色いろはこのままの方ほうがいい（です）。
The color should be as it is (*The color should stay the same).

Summary

…ながら expresses simultaneous actions.
You use …たまま when verbs in the sub action part indicate resultant states.
Simultaneous actions happen within the same subject.

Now you know how to express sequential, parallel, and simultaneous actions. The three actions require you to just use the te-form, the polite form, the negative form, and the ta-form to make the conjugations that you have already learned. Thus, if you know the basic grammar, they should be easy for you. Next, you will learn time clauses like “when.” Don’t worry. You won’t learn new conjugations, too.