ところ — About To / In the Middle / Just Finished (Timing)
ところ (literally 'place/point') used as a grammatical marker of the exact stage of an action, via three verb-tense combinations.
Structure
するところ (about to) | しているところ (in the middle) | したところ (just finished)
Examples
今から出かけるところです。
Ima kara dekakeru tokoro desu.
I'm just about to go out.
出かける (dictionary form) + ところ = about to do it
宿題をしているところに電話が来た。
Shukudai o shite iru tokoro ni denwa ga kita.
The phone rang just as I was doing my homework.
しているところに = right while doing it (interruption)
今、仕事が終わったところです。
Ima, shigoto ga owatta tokoro desu.
I've just finished work.
終わった (past form) + ところ = just finished it
• Three timing patterns: するところ (about to), しているところ (mid-action), したところ (just completed). • 〜ているところに = right at that moment, something (else) happens (interruption nuance).
Commonly confused with
The JLPT rarely asks whether you recognise a pattern — it asks which of several similar patterns fits. These are the ones ところ is tested against.
vs ているところ (this set, mid-action)
The dictionary-form するところ = ABOUT to start; したところ = JUST finished. Only the ている middle form means the action is currently underway.
vs たばかり
したところ = the action finished a moment ago (objective, just now); たばかり = it finished recently in the speaker's feeling (possibly hours or days earlier), stressing 'only just'.
More grammar patterns
- こと — Nominalizer (turning verbs into nouns)
- ことがある — Have experienced / Sometimes happens
- ことになる — It has been decided / It turns out
- ことにする — Decide to / Make it a rule to
- 〜方 (かた) — Way / Method of doing (how-to)
- 〜たり〜たり — Do things like… and… (representative actions)
- ということ — The Fact That / Meaning That
- と思う — I think / I believe
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