～ところ
just did / in the middle of / just about to
ところ literally means “place”, but after a verb it points to the place in time an action is at. With the past form (～たところ) it means “just finished doing”; with ～ている (～ているところ) it means “right in the middle of doing”; and with the dictionary form it means “just about to do”.
The form of the verb in front of ところ tells you which stage you are at, like a snapshot taken just before, during, or after the action.
1. Just finished: ～たところ
Use た-form + ところ when an action has finished only a moment ago.
今食べたところだ。
“I just finished eating.”
- 今（いま）= now, just now
- 食べた（たべた）= ate (past form of 食べる, to eat)
- ところ = the point, the moment (literally “place”)
- だ = plain form of です
2. In the middle of: ～ているところ
Use ～ている + ところ when you are right in the middle of an action. Unlike plain ～ている, which simply says an action is ongoing, ～ているところ highlights the exact moment, often as a reason you can't do something else right now.
今、宿題をしているところです。
“I'm in the middle of doing my homework right now.”
- 今（いま）= now
- 宿題（しゅくだい）= homework
- を = object marker
- している = doing (て-form of する + いる)
- ところです = am at the point of, in the middle of
3. Just about to: ～るところ
Use the dictionary form + ところ when an action is about to begin.
今から帰るところだ。
“I'm just about to go home.”
- 今から（いまから）= from now, now
- 帰る（かえる）= to go home
- ところ = the point, the moment
- だ = plain form of です
How to form it
Verb た-form + ところ (just did) / Verb て-form + いる + ところ (in the middle of) / Verb dictionary form + ところ (just about to)
- 食べる（たべる）= to eat → 食べたところ（たべたところ）= just ate
- する = to do → しているところ = in the middle of doing
- 帰る（かえる）= to go home → 帰るところ（かえるところ）= just about to go home
Key idea
ところ marks a specific point in time. The verb form before it tells you which point you're at: たところ = just finished, ているところ = right in the middle of, るところ = just about to.
Built on the same stem
Updated .