ところだabout to; in the middle of; just did
ところ means "place". Here it is a place in an action: just before it starts, part-way through, or just after it ends. The verb form in front says which.
About to
Verb in the dictionary form + ところだ
出る → 出るところだ
In the middle
Verb in the て-form + いる + ところだ
書いている → 書いているところだ
Just done
Verb in the た-form + ところだ
出た → 出たところだ
Polite and casual
ところです ・ ところ ・ とこ
With friends the だ drops, and ところ often shrinks to とこ.
About to
Nothing has started yet, but it is the very next thing. これから, 今から and ちょうど often come with it.
What are you doing now?
I'm just about to make dinner.
I'm just about to have lunch. Want to join me?
The taxi has arrived, so I'm just about to head to the airport.
The simplest "about to" has no ところ: just これから or もうすぐ before the verb, as in もうすぐ始まります, "it's about to start".
I'm about to have dinner.
In the middle
You have started and you aren't done. It is what you say when someone phones, or asks how far along you are.
I'm walking toward the station right now.
Sorry, I'm speaking with a customer right now, so I'll call you back later.
We haven't reached a conclusion yet. We're all in the middle of discussing it.
Oh, Tanaka-san. I was just thinking of calling you.
A set phrase for when someone calls just as you were going to call them.
ている or ているところ?
Plain ている is enough for "is doing". ところ adds that you are part-way through and busy with it now, so it can't be a routine or a state. 結婚しています (is married) has no middle to be in.
My younger brother studies economics in college.
What he does these years. He may be asleep right now.
My younger brother is in his room studying for an exam right now.
This minute, and he is busy with it.
Just done
It ended a moment ago. 今, たった今 and さっき often come with it.
Have you sent the materials yet?
Yes, I sent them by email just now.
The baby has just fallen asleep.
I've just got home.
Where are you now?
I've just left the house.
たところ or たばかり?
たところ is the moment right after, usually seconds or minutes ago: a report of where things stand now. たばかり says it still feels recent to you, whether that was a minute ago or a month ago.
I only came to Japan last month.
Not said: 先月日本に
(I only came to Japan last month.)
A month ago is no longer the moment right after.
When it really was a moment ago, both are fine.
I've just arrived at the station.
Where things stand: you are at the station now.
I've only just arrived at the station.
How little time has passed: you only just got here.
At a moment in the past: ところだった
To look back at a moment in the past, the end changes: ところだった, ところでした. The verb in front still says which stage it was, though in the middle ている often becomes ていた too.
When I arrived at the station, the train was just about to leave.
Still at the platform.
When I arrived at the station, the train had just left.
Already gone.
English says "was about to leave", but the verb stays 出る. With 出た, the train has gone.
When I got the call, I had just arrived at the station.
When the fire alarm went off, I was right in the middle of an interview.
Close neighbours
たばかりだN4
"Just" as a feeling: it still seems recent to you, even weeks or months later.
I only joined this company last month.
ているN5
The plain "is doing". It also covers routines and states, where ところ can't go.
I walk to the station every morning.
そうだN4
"About to" as a guess from how things look, about to rain or about to fall, is そうだ. るところだ is for what you know comes next.
The sky is dark. It looks like it's about to rain.
ところだったN3
The same るところだった, said of something that in the end didn't happen: "nearly".
I nearly fell down the stairs.
たところN2
In the middle of a sentence, たところ、… is "when I did it, I found…". Mostly written.
When I tried a different route, I arrived ten minutes earlier than usual.
Check yourself
1What does this mean?
私が
Choose an answer to see why.
2"My older brother lives in Tokyo now."
兄は
Choose an answer to see why.
3"I only started college last year."
去年、
Choose an answer to see why.
More detail
ところ is still a place
食べるところ can also be "somewhere to eat". The rest of the sentence shows which.
There is nowhere to eat lunch around here.
More sentences
I'm just about to print the documents.
The match was just about to begin.
The children are in the yard making a snowman.
The person in charge is currently investigating the cause.
The train has just left.
I have just finished lunch.
When he heard the news, he had just left the office.