In order to come to a logical conclusion about something in Japanese, sometimes strong expressions like
ことから will be used. This is a combination of the 名詞(めいし) こと, and the 格助詞(かくじょし) (case marking particle) から.
ことから literally means ‘from that which is (A), (B)’, but is generally simply translated as ‘from the fact that (A), (B)’.
ことから may be connected to the end of any phrase, so long as the word before it is in its 連体形(れんたいけい) (attributive form).
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こんな早(はや)い時間(じかん)に妻(つま)が寝(ね)ていることから、今日(きょう)は色々(いろいろ)と
大変(たいへん)だったと気(き)づいた。
From the fact that my wife is sleeping at such an early time, I noticed that she was busy with many things today.
家(いえ)の家具(かぐ)が全部(ぜんぶ)新(あたら)しいことから、彼(かれ)はここに引(ひ)っ越(こ)してきたばかりだと分(わ)かった。
From the fact that all his furniture is new, I realized that he has just moved here.
子供(こども)が静(しず)かなことから、何(なに)か悪(わるい)いことをしていると分(わ)かった。
From the fact that my kids were quiet, I knew that they were doing something bad.
これらのことからイベントを中止(ちゅうし)することに決(き)めました。
From these facts, we have decided to cancel the event.
There is a difference between
ことから ‘from the fact that’ and
ことだから ‘because’. In
ことだから, から is a 接続助詞(せつぞくじょし) (conjunctive particle) that links the (A) and (B) parts of a sentence. However, in
ことから, から is a 格助詞(かくじょし), meaning that it is highlighting the subject.
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コーヒーが冷(つめ)たいことから、コーヒーが淹(い)れられたのは結構(けっこう)前(まえ)だと分(わ)かる。
From the fact that the coffee is cold, you can tell that it was poured quite a while ago.
コーヒーが冷(つめ)たいことだから、コーヒーが淹(い)れられたのは結構(けっこう)前(まえ)だと分(わ)かる。
Since the coffee is cold, you can tell that it was poured quite a while ago.