...し... ことになる

[zuotengdazuo]

でも、夢ではなかったのだ。僕たちは今ではそれを知っているし、僕たちはその後、ともに同じ景色を目の当たりにすることになる。誰も知らない空の世界を。
彼女とともに過ごした、あの年の夏。
東京の空の上で僕たちは、世界の形を決定的に変えてしまったのだ。

Hi. Again, what is the function of the ことになる here? The meaning “Because now we know that, we witnessed the same scene after that” doesn’t seem to make sense.
Thank you.

 

[Toritoribe]

ことになる means the event is settled/arranged. The point is not "it's settled/arranged by someone", but "it's not done by the speaker's will."

There is not "because" there, and その後 is more likely "later".

 

[zuotengdazuo]

Thank you. So the op sentence is like the following example?
私は来月から会社に勤めることになりました。

But if so, why isn’t ことになった used in the op?

Besides, what does the し mean there, if not “because”?

 

[Toritoribe]

So the op sentence is like the following example?
私は来月から会社に勤めることになりました。

Yes.

But if so, why isn’t ことになった used in the op?

The reference point in time is put before the event ともに同じ景色を目の当たりにする (i.e., at the point of thinking その後). Of course 目の当たりにすることになった works well. In this case, the subject is looking back the event now.

Besides, what does the し mean there, if not “because”?

It's just "and" (, and 知っているし、僕たちはその後、～ことになる has a nuance something like "we know that, and later we really ~").

 

[zuotengdazuo]

Thank you again.
So can I interpret the sentence in question as “later it will be arranged/decided that we will see the same scene together” literally?

By the way, is this meaning of ことになる possible in this sentence, namely, “it means that”?
e.g. Now we know that; it means that we will see the same scene together.

 

[Toritoribe]

Ah, "later" might not be a good choice. I meant "after that time", and 同じ景色を目の当たりにする is a past event. 同じ景色 refers to 誰も知らない空の世界. It's also 東京の空の上, and the time is あの年の夏, i.e., past.

By the way, is this meaning of ことになる possible in this sentence, namely, “it means that”?
e.g. Now we know that; it means that we will see the same scene together.

The answer is no. It's not "we will see".

 

[zuotengdazuo]

Thank you again. Yes, you get it right.

It's not "we will see".

So what would be a proper literal translation of the sentence in question, if my version shows the tenses wrongly?

 

[Toritoribe]

It's the same in meaning as 同じ景色を目の当たりにすることになった, so I would simply say "we really saw the same scene together after that".

 

[zuotengdazuo]

Thank you again.
But the ことになる originally means “it’s been arranged/decided that...”. I wonder how come the meaning changes into “really” in your translation?

 

[Toritoribe]

That's not the only one meaning of ～ことになる.

1. 来月出張することになった。
2. その後、試合は相手に有利に展開することになった。
3. 翌日、事故に合うことになるとは、その時は思いもしなかった。

In the example #1, it's arranged/decided by someone else than the speaker (most likely the company or boss). However, the nuance is more likely "a situation occurred/would occur" in #2 and 3. This usage is often used when looking back a past event, like your example.

 

[zuotengdazuo]

Thanks a lot.