HSK 6 grammar · pattern
放着X不Y
放着…不… — leaving … unused / ignoring …
Pattern
+ + +
( ) can be left out · other words may come before, between and after
How it works
放着…不… reproaches someone for leaving a good option aside and not using it — "leaving X there and not …", "with X right there, yet not …".
Examples
放着好好的工作不做，他偏要去创业。
Fàng zhe hǎohāo de gōngzuò bú zuò, tā piān yào qù chuàngyè.
With a perfectly good job, he insists on starting his own business instead.
放着电梯不坐，你爬什么楼？
Fàng zhe diàntī bú zuò, nǐ pá shénme lóu?
The elevator's right there — why climb the stairs?
放着现成的饭不吃，非要出去买。
Fàng zhe xiànchéng de fàn bù chī, fēi yào chūqù mǎi.
There's food ready to eat, yet you insist on going out to buy some.
See it in a story
In the app, 放着X不Y is underlined wherever it appears in the stories you read, and practised with sentences from them. Free.