〜ているところ

About

ところ is a noun that means "place" or "scenario/circumstance". When ところ is preceded by a ている form verb, it expresses that an action is in the process of being done

• 

  食たべているところ
  "in the middle of eating"

• 

  掃除そうじしているところ
  "in the middle of cleaning"

This usage of ところ is commonly paired with adverbs such as ちょうど "just", and words like 今いま "now".

You can be more polite by following ところ with です if it comes at the end of your sentence, and you can also form the past tense "was in the middle of" pattern by following it with でした. The casual variants are of course だ and だった.

In casual speech, ところ is often shortened to とこ.

Summary

• 

  ところ combines with a ている form verb to express "in the middle of (verb)".

• 

  This usage of ところ is often paired with adverbs such as ちょうど "just", and words like 今いま "now".

• 

  ところ can be made polite by adding です instead of the casual だ.

• 

  〜ているところ can express "was in the middle of (verb)" by adding でした or the casual だった.

• 

  In casual speech, ところ is often shortened to とこ

  .