もうちょっとで

[eeky]

Hi,


フリントはもうちょっとでハリーを地上に突き落とすとこだった。

Does もうちょっとで mean "with a little more", i.e. if he had hit him with a little more force then he would have knocked him to the ground?

 

[SomeCallMeChris]

Yes, it does.

 

[eeky]

Cool, thanks.

 

[Morphling]

もうちょっとで

Ummm no. Where is toritoribe when you need him.

In any case, もうちょっとで「なになに」ところだった means almost. That's right, all that for almost. A bit like しなければならない meaning must. Reminds me of those cartoons where the guy would ramble on in a foreign language only to be translated into a single word in English. This is one of those moments.

So the translation should be "Flint almost knocked Harry to the ground".

 

[Toritoribe]

Indeed もうちょっとで～ところだった means almost, but I don't think the interpretation with a little more is wrong. (In fact, that's the original meaning.)
e.g.
もうちょっとでぶつかるところだった。
If I had run a little bit closer to it, then I would have bumped into it. = I almost bumped into it.

"もうちょっとで～ところだった is almost" or "～なければならない is must" is a way of learning, but I think eeky-san prefers the way of analysis "もうちょっとで is from a little bit more" or "～なければならない is from if I don't do that, the situation/event doesn't stand (so I must do that)".

I was in work, by the way.

 

[eeky]

"もうちょっとで～ところだった is almost" or "～なければならない is must" is a way of learning, but I think eeky-san prefers the way of analysis "もうちょっとで is from a little bit more" or "～なければならない is from if I don't do that, the situation/event doesn't stand (so I must do that)".

I like to understand the literal meaning of set patterns because it helps me to remember them, and also contributes a little bit of additional knowledge about the language. Of course, when one becomes familiar with an expression one can put the literal meaning to the back of one's mind. E.g. when I read ～なければならない I don't have to recall the literal meaning in order to understand it.