ところだった

[nicole0087]

Could you please tell me what's the meaning of this sentence:
運 転 手 が お し え て く れ た か ら よ か っ た も の の , も う 少 し 大 切 な 卒 業 る ん ぶ ん を タ ク シ - の 中 に 忘 れ る と こ ろ だ っ た .
And how can I use "と こ ろ だ っ た" in other sentences?

thank you!

 

[Flaminius]

Hallo Nicole,

Could I rewrite your question sentence since it contains a few typos?

運転手が教えてくれたから良かったものの、もう少しで大切な卒業論文をタクシーの中に忘れるところだった。

untenshu-ga oshiete kureta-kara yokatta-monono, mōsukoshi-de taisetsuna sotsugyō rombun-o takushī-no naka-ni wasureru tokoro datta.

The key phrase ところだった is "came near V+ing."

 

[cheshire]

I almost forgot (left) my （大切な）　graduation thesis in the taxi; I was lucky the taxi driver 「おしえてくれた（示してくれた）」　me. （日本語の箇所は英語にする自信がないのでだれか教えてください）

もうすこしでこの質問を見逃すところだった。I almost overlooked this question.
もうすこしで猫の尻尾を踏むところだった。　I almost stepped on the cat's tail.

 

[nicole0087]

Thank you for your answer.
So, can I say that in this grammar "もうすこしで" and "ところだった" must be used togather, like this: "もうすこしで......ところだった"?

 

[Flaminius]

Indeed もうすこし is often seen in company of ところだった but it is not obligatory. もうすこし is an adverbial expression meaning how close the event was to happening. Literally, it means, "only a bit more [of negligence, bad luck and so forth], and . . ."

運転手が教えてくれたから良かったものの、もう少しで大切な卒業論文をタクシーの中に忘れるところだった。

I was lucky because the driver remined me but, if things turned out bad evne a bit more, I would have ended up leaving my precious graduate thesis in the taxi.

Here ところだった denotes an action which has yet to be carried out even though conditions are ripe for it to happen.

Hope it helps.
Flam

 

[nicole0087]

Thank you flam, you help me a lot!