56920
Can someone explain how だった changes the meaning when put after ところ?

From what I understand, ところ can be used to express when an action takes place：

  1. するところ - about to do [verb]

> 今から家にかえるところだ。I am **about to** go home.

* * *

  2. しているところ - in the middle of doing [verb]

> 氷が溶けているところです。The ice is in the **middle of** melting.

* * *

  3. したところ - just finished [verb]

> 今着いたところです。 I **just** arrived now.

* * *

  4. していたところ - **was in the middle** of doing [verb]

> あなたのことを話してたところだよ。I was in the middle of taking about you.

* * *

However I don't understand the nuance or how the meaning changes when だった is
put after ところ.

  1. するところだった - I understand this to mean "was about to do [verb] (but it didn't happen)"
  2. しているところだった
  3. したところだった - How is this different from したところ?
  4. していたところだった

I would appreciate some example sentences to help me understand the difference
between ところ by itself and ところだった
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-24T11:33:35.853
56839
2018-02-27T16:00:22.357
27851
question
grammar usage nuances
How to use ところだった to express time related events
In my own experience with Japanese-learners, it has always seemed that the
construct:

> 「Verb Form + ところ + **だった** 」

is used incorrectly more often than one would expect. In particular, it has
seemed difficult for them to tell whether the action in question actually did
or did not take place.

Let us examine the four patterns that you have listed:

> 1) 「 **する** ところだった」 - I understand this to mean "was about to do [verb] (but
> it didn't happen)"

Precisely. **_It never happened_**. This means either it almost happened or it
was about to happen. You might have just changed your mind or something
unexpected happened that prevented the originally planned action from taking
place.

「もう少{すこ}しで電車{でんしゃ}に乗{の}り遅{おく}れるところだった。」 = "I almost missed my train."

The action of 電車に乗り遅れる ("missing the train") did **_not_** take place. You
were able to catch the train just in the nick of time.

> 2) 「 **している** ところだった」

You were engaged in an action at the time that is being talked about in the
context. You were in the middle of performing that action.

「母{はは}から電話{でんわ}が入{はい}ったとき、ボクは宿題{しゅくだい}をしているところだった。」 = "When my mother called,
I was doing my homework."

The tense of the sentence, which is past tense, is expressed properly by
「だった」. That is why using 「している」 is grammatical here as it has no effect on the
tense of the sentence as a whole.

> 3) 「 **した** ところだった」

This pattern forms the equivalent of the English **_pluperfect_** -- " ** _I
had just (performed an action)_** when X happened." The action had already
taken place at the particular time that is being discussed.

「雨{あめ}が降{ふ}り出{だ}したのは、試合{しあい}が始{はじ}まった（ばかりの）ところだった。」 = "It started raining when
the game had just started".

> How is this different from したところ?

Not too sure what you mean by that, but perhaps you are talking about a
sentence like:

「試合が始まったところで雨が降り出した。」, which is also natural and grammatical. It means
virtually the same thing as the example sentence above (except for the fact
that there is no pluperfect used in this new sentence).

> 4) 「 **していた** ところだった」

This construct expresses the same thing as 2) 「 **している** ところだった」. You will
see/hear the two equally often.

Finally,

> I would appreciate some example sentences to help me understand the
> difference between ところ by itself and ところだった

I honestly have no idea what you mean by the difference between ところ by itself
and ところだった.

In very informal speech, people say:

「ちょうどアンタの話をしてたところ！」 instead of:

「ちょうどアンタの話をしてたところだったの。」

If this is not what you wanted to know, please elaborate on your question.
CC BY-SA 3.0
2018-02-27T16:00:22.357
56920
2018-02-27T16:00:22.357
56839
answer