ところだ (tokoroda)

Meaning & usage

ところだ marks the point in time of an action, either recently completed or about to begin, and it can also indicate a place described by a clause. Attach it to た形 for completed actions as in 終えたところだ and to 辞書形 for upcoming actions as in 出るところだ, with ところだった plus もう少しで or 危うく expressing a narrow escape, while place use follows a clause describing location. Keep temporal ところ in hiragana, since kanji is reserved for physical places.

Example sentences 5

1. 車くるまはもう少すこしでうちの犬いぬをひくところだった。

   Our dog was nearly run over by a car.

2. ちょうど昼食を終えたところだ。

   I've just finished lunch.

3. 彼女は危うくトラックにひかれるところだった。

   She was very nearly run over by a truck.

4. 電話が鳴った時、私達は外出するところだった。

   We were all set to leave when the phone rang.

5. そのとき、私は家を出るところだった。

   I was just leaving home then.