N4 · Unit 10
Lesson 40Actions about to start, in progress, or just completed
Locate an action precisely in time and describe its beginning, continuation, or completion.
What you learn
Locate an action precisely in time and describe its beginning, continuation, or completion.
Learning points
- Stages of an action
- Just completed
- Beginning, continuation, and ending
Why this lesson comes now
This lesson connects what you can already say to a new way of expressing it. Hear the key sentences, understand the structure, then use it in a real situation.
Your next step
Listen to the key sentences, understand the pattern, finish the examples and vocabulary, then continue to the next lesson.
Open the interactive lessonCore pattern
動詞基本形 / ている / た形 + ところです ・ 動詞た形 + ばかりです ・ 動詞ます語幹 + 始めます / 出します / 続けます / 終わりますBeginner explanation
Dictionary form＋ところです means an action is about to start, 〜ているところです means it is in progress, and た-form＋ところです means it has just finished in the immediate situation. た-form＋ばかりです also means recently completed, but 'recently' is the speaker's judgment and may cover a longer interval. Add 始めます, 出します, 続けます, or 終わります to the ます-stem for beginning, sudden onset, continuation, or completion.
Understand these sentences first
- これから 昼ご飯を 食べるところです。kore kara hirugohan o taberu tokoro desu
I am just about to have lunch.
- 今、会議の 資料を 読んでいるところです。ima, kaigi no shiryō o yonde iru tokoro desu
I am in the middle of reading the meeting materials.
- たった 今、仕事が 終わったところです。tatta ima, shigoto ga owatta tokoro desu
I have just finished work.
- この 町に 引っ越して きたばかりです。kono machi ni hikkoshite kita bakari desu
I moved to this town only recently.
Core vocabulary
- 始めますはじめますbegin
- 出しますだしますstart suddenly; take out
- 続けますつづけますcontinue
- 終わりますおわりますfinish
- 到着とうちゃくarrival
- 引っ越しますひっこしますmove house
- 最終便さいしゅうびんlast flight
- たった今たったいまjust now
Grammar, one point at a time
Dictionary form + ところ means an action is about to begin
Vる + ところですAt speaking time, the action has not started. It often appears with これから, 今から, or ちょうど. Here, ところ marks a stage, not a physical place.
Examples
- これから 友達と 食事に 行くところです。I am just about to go for a meal with friends.
- 今、家を 出るところです。I am just about to leave home.
ている + ところ focuses on an action in progress
Vている + ところですIt foregrounds being right in the middle of the process more strongly than ordinary ています and often answers a progress question. It normally does not attach to non-volitional state verbs.
Examples
- 会議の 資料を そろえているところです。I am in the middle of assembling the meeting materials.
- 今、調べているところです。I am checking it now.
た + ところ means an action has just finished in the immediate situation
Vた + ところですCompletion is very close to the speaking time, often signalled by たった今, 今, or さっき. It does not naturally describe an event as remote as last year.
Examples
- たった今、空港に 着いたところです。I have just arrived at the airport.
- そのニュースは さっき 聞いたところです。I just heard that news.
た + ばかり means the speaker regards an action as recently completed
Vた + ばかりですRecent is the speaker's subjective time frame. It may mean minutes, days, or longer depending on the event and context, and does not require immediate completion in front of the speaker.
Examples
- この町に 引っ越してきたばかりです。I have only recently moved to this town.
- このモノレールは 去年 開通したばかりです。This monorail opened only last year.
たところ marks immediate completion; たばかり marks subjective recency
Vたところ ↔ VたばかりUse たところ for immediate current situations such as just becoming ready, arriving, or hearing something. Use たばかり for broader recent states such as newly married, newly employed, or recently moved.
Examples
- 今、準備が できたところです。The preparation has just finished.
- 先月 入社したばかりです。I joined the company only last month.
Verb stem + 始める means begin; + 出す often means start suddenly
Vます词干 + 始める／出す始める neutrally describes a beginning. 出す often marks an unannounced or sudden onset. Not every verb combines naturally with 出す.
Examples
- この本を 読み始めました。I started reading this book.
- 子供が 急に 泣き出しました。The child suddenly burst into tears.
Verb stem + 続ける means an action or state continues without stopping
Vます词干 + 続けるIt highlights continuation of the same action. Intransitive forms such as 降り続く also occur for natural phenomena, but use established combinations rather than attaching 続ける mechanically to every verb.
Examples
- 3時間 歩き続けました。I kept walking for three hours.
- 古い建物を 修理しながら 使い続けています。They continue using the old building while repairing it.
Verb stem + 終わる means finishing a bounded action
Vます词干 + 終わるIt commonly attaches to bounded actions such as reading, writing, eating, or drinking. For continuing phenomena such as rain, Japanese normally says 雨がやみました rather than mechanically using 降り終わりました.
Examples
- その本は もう 読み終わりました。I have finished reading that book.
- 薬を 飲み終わりました。I have finished taking the medicine.
Expressions and situations
お待たせしました is a fixed apology after making someone wait
A fuller form is お待たせして、すみません. Service staff also often say お待たせいたしました. Do not use it mechanically when no one has actually waited.
- お待たせしました。こちらへ どうぞ。Thank you for waiting. This way, please.
チケット often names event or travel tickets; 券 commonly forms formal compounds
Concerts, films, and plays often use チケット, while train tickets can be 切符. Formal ticket names include 入場券, 招待券, and 回数券. Follow the issuer's actual label.
- 京劇の チケットを 買います。I will buy a Peking opera ticket.
- この入場券は 当日だけ 有効です。This admission ticket is valid only on the day.
Use 耳の奥 for a place deep inside the ear, not 耳のそば
そば means nearby outside, while 奥 means deep inside a space. Similar expressions include 口の奥, 山の奥, and 部屋の奥.
- まだ 耳の 奥に 音楽が 残っています。The music still seems to remain deep in my ears.
Grammatical ところ marks a time stage, not necessarily a place
In 食べるところ, 食べているところ, and 食べたところ, ところ frames the action at the stage before starting, during progress, or just after completion.
- 今、コピーしているところです。I am in the middle of making copies.
The time span of ばかり depends on event scale and the speaker's judgment
A newly bought watch may mean minutes ago, while newly enrolled may cover months. State the date or duration when precision matters.
- この時計は 昨日 買ったばかりです。I bought this watch only yesterday.
- 娘は 今年 大学に 入ったばかりです。My daughter only entered university this year.
Japanese uses different verbs for different instruments
String instruments, piano, and some keyboards often use 弾く; wind instruments use 吹く; drums use たたく; 演奏する is the general verb perform.
- ピアノを 弾きます。I play the piano.
- フルートを 吹きます。I play the flute.
- 太鼓を たたきます。I play the drum.
Peking opera and Kabuki are distinct traditions whose names, music, roles, and makeup systems are not interchangeable
Peking opera has its own system of singing, recitation, acting, martial movement, music, and symbolic makeup. Kabuki has a separate history, character system, performance styles, and stage techniques. Learn 京劇 and 歌舞伎 as distinct terms.
- 今夜は 京劇を 見ます。I will watch Peking opera tonight.
- 日本で 歌舞伎を 見ました。I watched Kabuki in Japan.
Aragoto and wagoto are Kabuki performance styles, not a universal martial-versus-literary division
Japan Arts Council materials associate aragoto with bold, exaggerated Edo performance and wagoto with softer, graceful, more realistic Kamigata performance. Kabuki also includes other categories such as jitsugoto, villain roles, and onnagata.
- 荒事は 力強い 演技が 特徴です。Aragoto is characterized by forceful performance.
- 和事は 柔らかい 表現を 大切にします。Wagoto values gentle expression.
What you should be able to do
- Place one action on a timeline as about to begin, in progress, and just completed.
- Choose たところ or たばかり according to event scale and add a precise time cue.
- Attach 始める or 出す to representative verbs and judge neutral versus sudden onset.
- Describe continuation and completion with 続ける and 終わる and identify natural phenomena that do not combine mechanically.
- Choose 弾く, 吹く, たたく, or 演奏する for 39 instruments.
- Complete an original performance task: distinguish Peking opera and Kabuki, understand onnagata, aragoto, and wagoto, and do not mix their role or makeup systems.
Culture and real use
Peking opera and Kabuki: both integrated theatre, with different histories and performance systems
UNESCO describes Peking opera as a traditional performance art combining singing, recitation, acting, and martial movement, using primarily Beijing dialect, with music, codified movement, costume, and facial makeup shaping character and story. Japan Arts Council materials trace Kabuki to Okuni's kabuki dance in early seventeenth-century Kyoto. After women's Kabuki and wakashu Kabuki were successively prohibited, theatre performed by adult men developed and the onnagata role system became established. Kabuki remains performed by male actors, but onnagata is not a simple imitation of real women; it is a trained character and performance system. Aragoto developed in Edo and emphasizes bold exaggeration, mie poses, and kumadori makeup. Wagoto developed in Kamigata and favours softer, graceful, more realistic acting. These are internal Kabuki styles and cannot be equated directly with Peking opera's civil and martial repertories. Learners should keep the two traditions' names, instruments, roles, movement, and makeup meanings separate.
- 京劇と 歌舞伎は、別の 歴史を 持つ 舞台芸術です。Peking opera and Kabuki are stage arts with different histories.
- 女方は、訓練された 歌舞伎の 役柄です。Onnagata is a trained Kabuki role category.
- 化粧の 色は、伝統ごとの 意味を 確認します。I will check the meaning of makeup colours within each tradition.