English Translation
I almost left my umbrella in the train.
Could this also mean “I just left my umbrella on the train”?
@ericaw
No. “I actually did NOT leave my umbrella” is the only consequence you can interpret from this sentence. It was averted at the last minute.
～ところだった originally means “be about to do something”. ところ = 所 = the place, so ～ところだった is closer to “be on the VERGE of the risk etc” if you prefer a word-for-word translation. Another example is:
これからが面白いところだったのに、電話がかかってきた。= I got a phone call when it (e.g. a movie) was just getting good.
This sentence suggests that the speaker missed the climax of the movie because of the interruption.
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Thank you so much MsFixer! Your examples are super helpful. I suppose then, the only way to say “I just left my umbrella on the train” is to use past tense for 忘れる, so 「列車で傘を忘れたところだ（った）」?
@ericaw
列車「で」is grammatically incorrect. It should be 列車/電車「に」. If you use で in this sentence, it implies that “I forgot the general concept/definition of an umbrella when I was on the train” (e.g. I had a head injury there and lost my memory). You always need to use 「に」忘れる in the context of lost and found.
And 列車 sounds very old-fashioned with a sort of nostalgia. 電車 is the right fit.
If I were you, I would translate “I (have) just left my umbrella on the train” as 傘を電車に置き忘れてきてしまった。 Your word-for-word translation from “(have) just done” to ～ところだ, in this particular sentence, sounds like an unnatural machine translation. Leaving an umbrella is an unexpected mistake. Meanwhile ～ところだ has a subtle nuance of “achievement”. It doesn’t fit. My translation “～きてしまった” implies that the doer now regrets what they just did.
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