～ている所(ところ)だIn the process of doing ~ right now/at this moment

The ている① form describes an ongoing action or state. ているところだ conveys the same meaning but emphasizes being 'right in the middle' of doing something. For example, 食べている means 'I am eating,' while 食べているところだ emphasizes 'I'm in the middle of eating,' which could explain why you can't talk long on the phone, for example.

とき expresses the time of an action or event, like 'when' in English. It can be used with nouns as in 雨の時 'when it rains', verbs as in 父が帰ってきた時 'when Dad came home', or adjectives as in 暑い時 'when it's hot'. In contrast, ているところ uses the verb in て-form and emphasizes being in the middle of an action, often with a sense of being busy or focused, e.g. 晩ご飯を食べているところです ('I'm right in the middle of eating dinner.').

Both patterns express ongoing actions but differ in focus. ているところだ means being in the middle of something, often with a sense of being occupied. For example, 勉強をしているところだ ('I'm in the middle of studying.').ているあいだに highlights something that happens during another action, e.g. 勉強しているあいだに電話がかかってきた ('The phone rang while I was studying.').

ているところだ and ついでに both relate to ongoing actions but differ greatly in usage. ているところだ describes an action in progress at that moment, with the nuance that the speaker is currently occupied (e.g. 昼ご飯を食べているところだ = 'I'm in the middle of eating lunch'). In contrast, ついでに describes performing an 'extra' action on the same occasion as another (e.g. 散歩のついでに昼ご飯を買ってきた = 'While on a walk, I bought lunch').

ているところだ conveys that an action is currently in progress, often with a sense of immediate involvement, e.g. 朝ご飯を食べているところだ ('I'm in the middle of eating breakfast.'). In contrast, 途中に・途中で expresses doing something 'on the way' or 'in the middle' of another activity, e.g. 通勤の途中で朝ご飯を食べた ('I ate breakfast on my commute to work.').

ているところだ and 中 are similar in that both express being in the middle of doing something, but they function differently grammatically. ているところだ is used with verbs, e.g. 今、食事をしているところです ('Now I'm in the middle of eating.'). In contrast, 中 attaches to the end of nouns and expresses a similar meaning, e.g. 今、食事中です, which means essentially the same thing but is more concise.

ているところだ conveys that an action is in progress at that moment, with the nuance that the speaker is occupied with it, e.g. 映画を観ているところだ ('I'm in the middle of watching a movie.'). In contrast, の間に is used to express that something else happened at some point during the duration of that action, e.g. 映画を観ている間に父が帰ってきました ('My father came home while I was watching a movie.').

ているところだ conveys that an action is in progress at that moment, with the nuance that the speaker is occupied with it, e.g. 晩ご飯を食べているところだ ('I'm in the middle of eating dinner.'). In contrast, うちに describes doing an action while a certain state is ongoing, often with the nuance that it's the ideal time, e.g. 熱いうちに食べましょう ('Let's eat it while it's hot.').

ているところだ conveys that an action is in progress at that moment, with the nuance that the speaker is occupied with it, e.g. ゲームをしているところだ ('I'm in the middle of playing a video game.'). In contrast, ～ところに・～ところへ describes something happening at the moment of another action, e.g. ゲームをしているところに母に呼ばれた ('I was called by my mother while I was in the middle of playing a game.').

ているところだ conveys that an action is in progress at that moment, with the nuance that the speaker is busy with it, e.g. 晩ご飯を食べているところだ ('I'm in the middle of eating dinner.'). In contrast, 最中に is used to express that something else happened during that action, e.g. 晩ご飯を食べている最中に電話がかかってきた ('The phone rang while I was right in the middle of eating dinner.').

ているところだ and ながら both can express ongoing actions or states, but are used differently. ているところだ focuses on being 'in the middle of' something and implies that the speaker is occupied with that action, e.g. ご飯を食べているところだ ('I'm in the middle of eating.'). In contrast, ながら expresses simultaneous actions, e.g. テレビを観ながらご飯を食べる 'watch TV while eating'.