Verb た-form + ばかり

[Just Did]

Connection:

• Verb た-form + ばかり: 食べたばかり (just ate)
• Emphasizes recency of completed action

How to form:

• Group 1 (五段): 帰る → 帰ったばかり (just returned)
• Group 2 (一段): 食べる → 食べたばかり (just ate)
• Irregular: する → したばかり, 来る → 来たばかり

ばかり vs ところ:

• たばかり = just finished (recently, but time has passed)
• たところ = just finished (at the exact moment, very immediate)
• ているところ = in the middle of doing

Time range:

• Can be used for actions that happened minutes to hours ago
• More flexible time range than ところ

Examples:

• ご飯を食べたばかりです (I just ate)
• 日本に来たばかりで、まだ慣れていません (I just came to Japan, so I'm not used to it yet)
• 買ったばかりの本をなくしました (I lost the book I just bought)