～ことになる
A decision or outcome comes from circumstances
You'll be able to describe what has been decided by others or what a situation ends up causing.
来月、家族で旅行することになりました。
raigetsu, kazoku de ryokou suru koto ni narimashita.
What do you think this sentence means?
It has been decided that our family will travel next month.
Announce an arrangement or resulting decision
～ことになる presents an arrangement as decided or as how events have turned out. It backgrounds who made the decision, rather than necessarily claiming it was forced.
会議は明日行うことになりました。
kaigi wa ashita okonau koto ni narimashita.
The meeting has been arranged for tomorrow.
Form and use ～ことになる
Use ことになりました for an arrangement that has now been settled. The speaker may have participated in deciding; the grammar simply does not foreground that personal choice.
会議は明日行うことになりました。
kaigi wa ashita okonau koto ni narimashita.
The meeting has been arranged for tomorrow.
今年は引っ越さないことになりました。
kotoshi wa hikkosanai koto ni narimashita.
It has been decided that we will not move this year.
My decision or an arrangement
～ことにしました puts the speaker’s choice in focus. ～ことになりました reports an arrangement as settled without saying who decided it.
ことにしました
私は来月引っ越すことにしました。
watashi wa raigetsu hikkosu koto ni shimashita.
I decided to move next month.
The speaker foregrounds their own decision to move.
ことになりました
私は来月引っ越すことになりました。
watashi wa raigetsu hikkosu koto ni narimashita.
It has been decided that I will move next month.
The move is presented as a settled arrangement; the decision-maker stays in the background.
来月から大阪の事務所で働くことになりました。
raigetsu kara oosaka no jimusho de hataraku koto ni narimashita.
It's been decided that I'll work at the Osaka office from next month.
明日の会議は十時から始めることになりました。
ashita no kaigi wa juuji kara hajimeru koto ni narimashita.
It's been decided that tomorrow's meeting will start at ten.
父の仕事で、家族でアメリカに引っ越すことになりました。
chichi no shigoto de, kazoku de amerika ni hikkosu koto ni narimashita.
Because of my father's job, our family is going to move to America.
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