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Decoded Slug: ~ところだった (〜tokoro datta)

Japanese JLPT Grammar Point
~ところだった (〜tokoro datta)

~ところだった (〜tokoro datta)

Short explanation:

Expresses a near miss or a situation that almost happened; 'was just about to', 'almost', 'nearly'.

Formation:

Verb-te form + いるところだった, い-Adjective + ところだった, な-Adjective + なところだった, Noun + のところだった

Examples:

もう少しで遅れるところだった。
Mou sukoshi de okureru tokoro datta.
I was just about to be late.
彼が危うく事故にあうところだった。
Kare ga ayaui jiko ni au tokoro datta.
He almost had an accident.
電車に乗るところだったが、ドアが閉まってしまった。
Densha ni noru tokoro datta ga, doa ga shimatteshimatta.
I was just about to get on the train, but the door closed.
忘れ物をするところだった。
Wasuremono wo suru tokoro datta.
I almost forgot my belongings.

Long explanation:

The ~ところだった grammar point is used to express a situation that almost occurred or something that the speaker was just about to do. It can be translated as 'was just about to', 'almost', or 'nearly' in English. The formation differs depending on whether it is used with a verb, い-adjective, な-adjective, or noun.
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