Structure
Verb + ことになる
［い］Adjective + ことになる
［な］Adjective + な + ことになる
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About ことになる
ことになる is an expression that combines the nominalizing use of こと (creating a noun-phrase), with the case marking particle に, and the う - Verb なる 'to become'. This expression can be translated as 'to become (A)', but has the nuance that someone/thing caused (A) to become that way. Due to this, it may also be translated as 'it has been decided that (A)', or 'it will end up being (A)'.
ことになる is primarily used with verbs and い-Adjectives in their attributive form. It may also be used with な-Adjectives followed by な.
The 'it has been decided that (A)' meaning only applies to verbs, as only verbs will be enacted by someone/thing.
Fun Fact
This structure is a good example of why なる is often viewed as the intransitive form of する. する conveys that someone is performing an action (transitive), while なる implies that something is the result of an action (intransitive). This is why the (A) phrase in ことになる is usually determined to have been decided/performed by someone else, while still focusing on exactly 'what' (A) became.
Synonyms
にする
To decide on, To choose, To make something into, To view something as
Not studied yet
ようになる
To reach the point that, To come to be that, To turn into
Not studied yet
に決まっている
Surely, Bound to, Certainly, Be decided
Not studied yet
ことにする
To decide on, Have decided to
Not studied yet
ことになっている
To be expected to, To be scheduled to
Not studied yet
Examples
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どうしてこんな事になったの？意味がわからないよ。
Why did it end up like this? I don't get it.
大変な事になったぞ。何か作戦を考えなければ。
We ended up getting in trouble. We have to figure out a plan.
私が会議に出る事になった。
It was decided that I will attend the meeting.
連絡がなければ、僕が仕事に行く事になります。
If we do not hear anything, I will end up going to work.
困った事になったな。もう電池が切れそうだ。
I ended up in a jam. It seems that my battery is about to die.
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ことになる – Grammar Discussion
Most Recent Replies (1 in total)
Talos
While showing this grammar point to my Japanese-native tutor, she claimed that several of the sentences didn’t make sense to her.
明日が雨ならば、１週間降り続くことになる
After I explained the meaning in English she said it would have made more sense ending in 続いたことになる 。
インフルエンザにかかってしまったので、今日の大会が出れないことになった
She explained that 出れない normally only takes a human subject, so I should replace が with に to get 今日の大会に出れない
Finally, my tutor also felt that this grammar point covered two very different usages and suggested that the “was decided” meaning acts as a single grammatical unit
ことになる
and tends to be used in the context of a business doing the deciding. (Your example sentences might support this depending on context.)
From example sentences with decided meaning
- Must return to America (from a business trip?)
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