Grammar Info

N4 Lesson 9: 4/16

～た所(ところ)だJust finished doing, Was just doing

ところ can be contracted to とこ in casual conversations. In this use ところ means "stage/level/situation"

Structure

Verb［た］(1) + ところ + だ

(1) Verb［ていた］

Details

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About たところだ

In a similar way to how ところ (sometimes shortened to とこ) means 'about to (A)', or 'on the verge of (A)', when following the non-past form of a verb, when following the auxiliary verb た, ところ will mean 'just did (A)'.

To use this structure, make the past tense of any verb, and then add ところ.

While this expresses 'just did (A)', ていた may be used when you would like to express that you were 'just doing (A)'.

Caution

When the kanji form of 所(ところ) is used, it is often referring to an actual physical location, rather than a situation/standpoint. However, this is something that native speakers will sometimes mistake. Therefore, seeing the kanji form and the hiragana form are both relatively common.

Related

Examples

--:--

    今(いま)食(た)べ終(お)わったところです。

    I just finished eating.

    服(ふく)を脱(ぬ)いでいたところに、母(はは)が部屋(へや)に入(はい)ってきた。

    My mom came into the room just as I was taking my clothes off.

    新(あたら)しいおもちゃを渡(わた)したところで壊(こわ)れた。

    Just after I gave the new toy (to someone), it broke.

    友達(ともだち)はたまたま友達(ともだち)に会(あ)う：「君(きみ)に会(あ)いたいと今(いま)思(おも)っていたところだわ！」

    Friend meets a friend by accident: 'I was just thinking that I want to see you!'

    改札(かいさつ)に入(はい)ったところで電車(でんしゃ)の扉(とびら)が閉(し)まった。

    Just as I (had) entered the ticket gate, the train doors closed.

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たところだ – Grammar Discussion

Most Recent Replies (28 in total)

  • Nicole

    Nicole

    just finished doing
    was just doing

    Structure

    • Verb[ た ] + ところ
    • Verb[ ていた ] + ところ

    View on Bunpro

  • Nicole

    Nicole

    This grammar point contains the sentence

  • seanblue

    seanblue

    It’s using this grammar in combination with ようとする. Frankly I’ve also been confused by this combination multiple times, and I still have trouble breaking it down.

    Also, ようとする is N3, so I think it’s inappropriate to use with this N4 grammar for an example sentence.

  • Nicole

    Nicole

    So, does that mean that したところ is in past tense because the trying-but-failing part (that is expressed via ようとする iirc) is already over when the person noticed the lack of teabags?

    Wow, that sounds really convoluted.

  • Nicole

    Nicole

    Even if it were N4 as well, its usage in this sentence makes it unnecessarily hard for people who study grammar in non-Bunpro order…

  • seanblue

    seanblue

    One of the other meanings of ようとする is to be about to do something. So in combination with the "trying and failing " part you mentioned, I think that’s how you break down the meaning.

  • mrnoone

    mrnoone

    @Nicole @seanblue
    Hey!
    Exactly.

    This example will be (finally) changed since it uses higher level grammar.

    お茶を飲もうとしたところ(に)ティーバッグがないと分かった。
    （飲もうとしたところ can be rephrased to 飲もうとしたら・飲もうとしたとき）

    I was about to make a tea, I realized that I didn’t have tea bags.
    In this case, there is already a nuance of it being disrupted in some way, and being displeased at it.

    It means the same things as:

    お茶を飲むところティーバッグがないと分かった。
    But in this case, in 飲むところ there is no implied feeling of displeasure, being troubled. Plus, a Japanese speaker is more likely to use the first one.

    飲もうとするところに is not really used

  • Nicole

    Nicole

    Thank you to both of you for breaking down the grammar for me! Now I can understand how this sentence comes about.

  • Juppy

    Juppy

    Can someone explain to me how the で fits in the sentence below as a particle?
    I have spotted some other sentences which used it this way but I am not sure how it fits exactly.

  • Nicole

    Nicole

    According to Dictionary of Japanese Grammar, で can be used to indicate the time when s.t. terminates or the amount of time a period of activity has taken, which seems to fit well here.

  • Pep95

    Pep95

    Heya, I was wondering about the following sentence:

    image.png695×229 10.6 KB
  • Pushindawood

    Pushindawood

    @Pep95 Hey! 食べ終わったところ is close to the English “I just finished eating,” while 食べたところ is “I just ate.” It is just a matter of what you would like to express. They both mean essentially the same thing here. Cheers!

  • deltacat3

    deltacat3

    I think this review sentence is using grammar ahead of its lesson: [～てしまう]

    旅行に行ったところに、台風が来てしまった。
    Just as I had gone on a trip, a typhoon unfortunately came.

    And as usual my 英和辞典 was more confusing than help full haha! xD

  • mrnoone

    mrnoone

    Hey

    Thank you for the feedback!
    I have replaced all sentences that were using grammar points that appear later than たところ！

    Cheers,

  • Innov8d

    Innov8d

  • mrnoone

    mrnoone

    Hey

    It was a bug and has been fixed thanks to your feedback.

    Thank you and sorry for the inconvenience!

  • mrthuvi

    mrthuvi

    I found this sentence in a JLPT N3 book and たとことdoesn’t seem to mean “just finished doing” in this case. What’s the meaning of this:

    先輩に仕事をお願いしたとこと、気持ちよく引き受けてくれました。

  • mrnoone

    mrnoone

    @mrthuvi
    Hey,

    In this case (when AところB is used without any particle and B is generally in past form), it means “when/then” (the result of A is B/B has been triggered by A, but B happened by chance, not due to the will of the speaker). と and ったら can be used this way too.

    Another example:
    アプリを試したところ、エラーが出ました。
    When I tried the app, I got an error.

    B happened as a result of A, but was beyond the will of the speaker. Notice that actions of others are also beyond the will of the speaker.

  • larrydeluca

    larrydeluca

    I’m having trouble with differentiating ていたところ and ながら。 In the example sentence:

    服を脱いでいたところに、母が部屋に入ってきた is translated as:

    My mom came into the room just as I was taking my clothes off.

    This seems to indicate the action is ongoing, rather than just completed. Why can’t I use ながら here?

    Thanks!!

    Larry

  • ljoekelsoey

    ljoekelsoey

    EDIT: corrected grammatical mistake regarding ながら

    Your example sentence means explicitly at the moment you got undressed your mum entered (lol). It does not mean that at some point during the time it took you to get undressed she entered.

    服を脱 いでいたところ に、母が部屋に入ってきた
    M...

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