Meaning & usage
ことに expresses the speaker's feeling about a fact, like surprise, happiness, relief, sadness or regret, and corresponds to English adverbs such as luckily or to phrases like to my surprise. It follows the past form of a verb as in 驚いたことに, an i-adjective as in うれしいことに, or a na-adjective plus な as in 残念なことに. It normally comes at the start of a sentence in fairly formal style and introduces the event that causes the feeling.
Example sentences 7
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ラッキーなことに、優勝した。
Luckily, I won first prize.
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驚いたことに、彼はまだ学生だった。
To my surprise, he was still a student.
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うれしいことに、試験に合格した。
Happily, I passed the exam.
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残念なことに、電車が止まった。
Unfortunately, the train has stopped.
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不思議なことに、鍵が開いていた。
Strangely, the lock was open.
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ありがたいことに、皆が助けてくれた。
Thankfully, everyone helped me.
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悲しいことに、犬が死んでしまった。
Sadly, the dog died.
In past JLPT papers
This came up in 6 past exam questions.
And 2 more tests.
