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JLPT N2Conditionals

たところで— Even If You Did, It's Useless

Attached to the plain past form of a verb, たところで expresses that even if some action is done, the result will be futile, insignificant, or fall short of expectations. The speaker judges the effort pointless in advance. It is always followed by a negative or discouraging conclusion, often with words like 無駄 (waste) or a negative potential.

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Pro lessonUNIT 42 · CONDITIONALS

Structure · 形

[Verb plain past (た)] + ところで

Examples · 例文

  • 今から急いだところで、間に合わないよ。

    Ima kara isoida tokoro de, ma ni awanai yo.

    Even if you hurry now, you won't make it in time.

    急いだ + ところで sets up the futile action; the clause ends in a negative result.

  • 彼に頼んだところで、どうにもならないだろう。

    Kare ni tanonda tokoro de, dou ni mo naranai darou.

    Even if you ask him, nothing will come of it.

    頼んだところで presents the useless attempt; どうにもならない gives the hopeless outcome.

  • いくら謝ったところで、彼女は許してくれない。

    Ikura ayamatta tokoro de, kanojo wa yurushite kurenai.

    No matter how much you apologize, she won't forgive you.

    いくら…たところで emphasizes 'no matter how much'; the result stays negative.

Usage notes · 注意

  • Always leads to a negative, futile, or disappointing conclusion — never a positive one.
  • Often paired with いくら or どんなに for 'no matter how much'.
  • The た is fixed even though the meaning is hypothetical/future.

Commonly confused with

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

vsても

ても is a neutral 'even if' that can precede either positive or negative results; たところで specifically pre-judges the action as futile and demands a negative outcome.

vsたとしても

たとしても supposes a hypothetical without necessarily implying futility; たところで strongly stresses that the effort is pointless.

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