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After reading [this
question](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/questions/65884/what-kind-of-
inflection-is-occuring-in-passive-vb-%E3%81%8B%E3%81%8B%E3%81%A3%E3%81%9F) on
this site, I learned that ～かかる following a verb-stem can be translated as
"about to ~"; the example in the original question being 殺されかかった, or "about to
be killed" (as per the accepted answer).

My question is, I have also learned that PT-Vb + ところだ also means "about to",
e.g. 行くところだ = "about to go", するところだ = "about to do", etc. What is the
difference between these 2 verb forms?
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2019-03-11T14:58:02.207
65958
2019-03-25T03:22:35.550
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question
conjugations synonyms compound-verbs
What's the difference between ～かかる and ～ところだ
I'll take a stab at this.

In the past tense, with 殺されるところだった vs 殺されかかった, I think they are mostly the
same. One expect that those things didn't actually happen.

For the present tense, I'll quote from
[大辞林](https://kotobank.jp/word/%E6%8E%9B%E3%81%8B%E3%82%8B%E3%83%BB%E6%87%B8%E3%81%8B%E3%82%8B%E3%83%BB%E6%8E%9B%E3%82%8B%E3%83%BB%E6%87%B8%E3%82%8B-226853)

> ⓱（動詞の連用形に付く）もう少しでそうするところである。…しそうになる`

~かかる means that they are slightly before the level of ~ところだ. So they are very
similar, but I think in general with ~ところだ there is a stronger nuance that one
expects the verb to happen (assuming no any interventions).

For the case of 殺される, I think in the dictionary form of the verb, both can be
used in the sense of being very close to dying/heavily injured. I'm not sure
about the exact context of the following image, but one could easily imagine
Goku being on the verge of death after being punched and injured.

> 〇悟空は敵に殴られて大怪我を負って、殺されるところだ。
>
> 〇悟空は敵に殴られて大怪我を負って、殺されかかる。

[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/BUoXT.gif)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/BUoXT.gif)

However, 殺されかかる can be used to describe another type of situation:

[![enter image description
here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/6NIJZ.gif)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/6NIJZ.gif)

> 〇悟空は敵に殴られて殺されかかるけど、彼は玄人なので余裕だ。
>
> ✖悟空は敵に殴られて殺されるところだけど、彼は玄人なので余裕だ。

Obviously if Goku were to get by one of those punches, he might end up in a
situation similar to the first image, but Goku is a professional and has it
completely under control. One doesn't necessarily expect any of those punches
to land on Goku.
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2019-03-25T03:22:35.550
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2019-03-25T03:22:35.550
2020-06-17T08:18:27.500
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answer