〜ところ: about to, in the middle of, just did

ところ pins an action to a moment, and which moment depends entirely on the verb form in front of it — dictionary, ている or た.

Also known astokoroところabout to japanesein the middle of

V(dict/ている/た) ところですところ — just about to / in the middle / just did

Timing ところ

dict+ところ = about to; ているところ = in the middle of; た+ところ = just did.

今　出かけるところです。

いま　でかけるところです。

I'm just about to go out.

ところ marks the exact phase of an action: 食べるところ (about to eat), 食べているところ (in the middle of eating), 食べたところ (just finished eating).