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JLPT N4Verb Forms

てある— The Intentional Remnant

Expresses that someone (an unstated human agent) did a transitive action on purpose, and the resulting state STILL persists for a reason. Focus is on the state that remains, not the act itself.

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Pro lessonUNIT 67 · VERB FORMS

Structure · 形

[Transitive Verb te-form] + ある

Examples · 例文

  • 窓が開けてあります。

    Mado ga akete arimasu.

    The window has been (intentionally) left open.

    開ける (transitive: to open something) + てある = someone opened it and left it that way

  • 黒板に字が書いてある。

    Kokuban ni ji ga kaite aru.

    Words are written on the blackboard.

    書く (to write) + てある = someone wrote them, they remain

  • テーブルの上に晩ご飯が用意してある。

    Teeburu no ue ni bangohan ga youi shite aru.

    Dinner has been prepared and is waiting on the table.

    用意する (to prepare) + てある = someone prepared it and it remains ready

Usage notes · 注意

  • The Particle Flip: Transitive verbs normally take the object particle を (窓を開ける = I open the window). But in てある the object becomes the standing subject of the state, so it usually takes が (窓が開けてある).
  • Vs ている: 窓が開いている (intransitive 開く — the window is open right now, said neutrally). 窓が開けてある (transitive 開ける — a human opened it on purpose and left it). てある implies human intention/preparation.

Commonly confused with

The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones てある is tested against.

vsている (with intransitive verb, e.g. 開いている)

ている just reports a state (window is open). てある adds that a person opened it deliberately and left it for a purpose.

vsておく

ておく is the ACTION of doing something in advance (窓を開けておく = I'll open the window ahead of time). てある is the resulting STATE left behind (窓が開けてある = the window has been opened).

More verb forms

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