Table of Contents

ところ and とき

This page explains how to express time relative to an action. Please read verbs as adjectives first.

とき

“When I ~(Non question)”
Plain form verb/い Adjective + とき
な Adjective +なとき
Noun +のとき

時(とき) is a noun that means “time”. In sentences, it is used to set the time. The tense of the word before 時 and the final verb tends to match.
It tends to be used with は to talk about a specific type of time or times. (General statement)

Examples

勉強していた時は苦労していた。
It was hard when I was studying
ウェブサイトを作る時は大変だ。
It is hard when you make a website.
先生の説明を聞いた時はやっと理解した
I finally understood when I heard the teacher’s explanation.
楽しい時はいいね
Fun times are nice right?
それを見た時に彼の言葉を思い出した
When I saw it, I remembered what he said.

With を

時 can be used with を to “do” something to a specific time, typically “forget” or “get over”

辛かった時を何度も乗り越えてきた
I’ve gotten over many hard times.
辛い時を忘れよう
Let’s forget the hard times.
裏切られた時を忘れない
I won’t forget when I was betrayed.

Tense Comparison

学校に行く時
When (I/you) go to school…
学校に行った時
When I went to school
学校に行っている時
When I am going to school
学校に行っていた時
When I was going to school.

ところ

“About to”
Plain form verb/い Adjective + ところ

ところ is very similar to 時, but it is more immediate and does not make a general statement about a time. It is closer to “As I do/did/doing” or in the case of adjectives “As I was fun/sad/etc.” Since ところ is a statement about a point in time, it tends to use に

Present/Future

With the present/future tense, ところ means “Time when about to“.

勉強するところに友達がきた
When I was about to study, my friend came over.
寝るところに変な音がした
When I was about to sleep, I hard a strange sound.
ちょうど店に行くところだった。一緒に来る？
I was just about to go to the store. Want to come with me?

Progressive Tense

The progressive tense is not much different from Present/Future, except the action is underway.

店に行っているところだ。
I’m heading to the store.
学校をさぼっているところに見つかった
I got caught/seen when I was skipping school.
勉強していたところに来た。
Came when he had been studying.

たところ

Just as I did X
Plain past tense verb + ところ

The past tense version of ところ means “Just as I did”

Examples

やっと寝たところに起こされた。
Just as I went to sleep, I got woken up.
完成したところに壊された
Just as I completed it, it got broken.
宿題を終わったところに寝た
Just as I finished my homework, I fell asleep.