Just as: 〜ところに・〜ところへ
Verb (dictionary／ている／た) + ところに／ところへ
Verb + ところに／ところへ: just as you were doing (or about to do) something, someone or something turns up. If someone acts on the person caught out, it's ところを.
In short
〜ところに／ところへ says someone or something turns up at a precise moment, often an inconvenient one: “just as”. ところ here refers to a moment, not a place. Then come verbs of arrival: 来る, 帰ってくる, 電話がかかってくる, 通りかかる.
- 出かけようとしたところへ、電話がかかってきた。でかけようとしたところへ、でんわがかかってきた。Just as I was about to go out, the phone rang.
- 料理を作っているところに、友だちが遊びに来た。りょうりをつくっているところに、ともだちがあそびにきた。Some friends dropped round just as I was cooking.
- 道に迷って困っていたところへ、ちょうど先生が通りかかった。みちにまよってこまっていたところへ、ちょうどせんせいがとおりかかった。I was lost and didn't know what to do when, as luck would have it, my teacher happened to pass by.
The basics
ところ can refer to a moment, a phase of an action. 〜ところに／ところへ is “at that moment, something arrived”. The second event comes from outside and interrupts or disturbs the situation, often at the worst moment, sometimes at the best (困っていたところへ助けが来た).
へ and に keep their idea of destination here: something “arrives into” that moment.
Just as I was about to go out, the phone rang.
- verb
- grammatical form
- noun
- ちょうどみんなで話しているところに、本人がやってきた。ちょうどみんなではなしているところに、ほんにんがやってきた。Just as we were all talking about him, the man himself turned up.
How to form it
The form of the verb tells you which phase the interruption hits: just before (〜ようとした), during (〜ている), just after (〜た).
| Form | Moment | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 〜ようとしたところへ | just before doing | 出かけようとしたところへ |
| 〜ているところに | in the middle of doing | 作っているところに |
| 〜たところへ | just after doing | 家に着いたところへ |
| 〜ていたところへ | a state that had been going on | 困っていたところへ |
- 家に着いたところへ、宅配便が届いた。いえについたところへ、たくはいびんがとどいた。I'd only just got home when the parcel was delivered.
- 寝ようとしたところへ、隣の人が帰ってきた。ねようとしたところへ、となりのひとがかえってきた。I was about to go to bed when the neighbour came home.
ところに／へ, ところを, ところで
〜ところを is used when someone acts directly on the person caught at that moment: 見つかる, 呼び止められる, 助けられる. The main verb is about you. 〜ところに／へ, by contrast, brings someone or something into the scene.
〜たところで (“at the point where”, “once”) mainly marks a stage in a sequence of actions (話がまとまったところで、休憩しましょう). Don't confuse it with 〜たところで followed by a negative conclusion (line 9), which means “even if…, it wouldn't help”.
| Construction | What happens | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 〜ところに／へ | someone or something arrives | 出かけるところへ客が来た |
| 〜ところを | someone acts on the person | 帰るところを呼び止められた |
| 〜たところで | at this point in the sequence | 一段落したところで休む |
- 帰ろうとしたところを、部長に呼び止められた。かえろうとしたところを、ぶちょうによびとめられた。I was about to leave when the boss stopped me. (ところを: acting on me)
- 話がまとまったところで、休憩しましょう。はなしがまとまったところで、きゅうけいしましょう。Now that we've reached agreement, let's take a break. (ところで)
Common mistakes
- Taking ところ as a place (“at the place where”): here it's a moment.
- Mixing up ところに and ところを: if someone acts on you (呼び止められた, 見つかった), it's ところを.
- Putting an intention in the second part: you're relating what happened, not what you decide.
7 exercises on this point
Particles to choose, sentences to put back in order, translations: marked straight away, then reviewed at the right time. This JLPT N2 point is on the Kintetsu Nagoya Line (Rites and daily life) of the Nagoya lines.