Please keep the lights on.

[Half-n-Half]

I saw a picture of a light switch with a sign underneath it that said "Please keep the lights on." Actually, it was a bit of Engrish at first and said "Please keep the fun on" but that's neither here nor there

I tried to figure how I might translate this into Japanese (minus the fun) and the first thing I thought of was 電気をつけておいてください but I'm not really sure if this would be a correct translation. To me this translation seems more like the lights are off now, so turn them on and keep them that way. Then I thought maybe I could say 電気をこのままでおいてください but I'm even less confident in this one. I could just make it simple and say 電気を消さないでください but that doesn't quite have the same nuance.

Then I got to thinking I don't really have a firm grasp on the "keep~" construct. Some of them don't seem so hard, for example "keep walking" (I think) is 歩き続けて. I think my main confusion comes from the fact that in Japanese there isn't a magical word like "kept" or "keep" that can be used so universally. Please correct me if I'm wrong. For example, in English I could say "He kept coming back," "I will keep the door open," "He kept walking" but in Japanese you might need something like なんども、～おく、続ける、ずっと、etc. I don't really know if there is a question in there, but thought I would express my feelings :sorry:

 

[Elizabeth]

"電気/明かりをついたままにして(おいて)くれませんか/下さい" = Please leave the lights on.


The vast majority of cases will take おいて just logically, but I gave a basic template because obviously there may be exceptions. And there _should_ be a construction that works in ずっと which is more like continuously in a state or "keep going" for a longer period of time. Will keep thinking.

 

[Half-n-Half]

Thanks Elizabeth, your example is very helpful. I wasn't necessarily looking for an example that uses ずっと、I was just ranting on about the many uses of the "keep~" construct in English.

One question, though. Isn't 点く an intransitive verb? If so, shouldn't it then be 電気/明かりがついたままに．．． ?

 

[Elizabeth]

電気がついた。付ける ? 点く ? = Turn on/Lit up/catch on fire/be lighted....The lights turned (themselves) on.

(trans.) to turn on = を付く

 

[Toritoribe]

The intransitive ついたままにしておく sounds like "the light turned on automatically," whereas the transitive つけたままにしておく is more likely "someone turned the light on."

 

[Elizabeth]

Then I thought maybe I could say 電気をこのままでおいてください but I'm even less confident in this one.

If you're asking whether you should turn off the lights, "It's fine just like this !" could be part of someone's answer.

このままでいい(です)よ

 

[Putrefaction]

I have a small question. Why can't we use ある to say that someone is keeping it on as planned?

 

[Toritoribe]

I have a small question. Why can't we use ある to say that someone is keeping it on as planned?

電気が/をつけたままにしてあります is just a description of a present fact. 電気をつけたままにしておいてください is a request for the future.

 

[Putrefaction]

I see, I did not realize this. The しておく ください form is used in that sense.