98483
I am trying to read GJ部 and I've come across this:

> 紫音さんの細い指が喉元で動く。 三人の手が三人とも違っている **ことに** 、軽い驚きがあった。

I think this sentence means something like "Shion-san's thin fingers moves
around his neck. He was slightly surprised at how different each of the three
girls' hands feel", but I don't really understand what ことに is doing in this
case.

Context: This guy couldn't tie his tie so 3 girls offered to help him, the
first two also tied it wrong and while the third girl was trying to tie it the
narrator said this.
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-02-05T02:23:56.250
98482
2023-02-05T02:35:21.323
55676
question
grammar light-novel
Understanding ~ことに
This こと is a nominalizer, "(the fact) that ...". This に is a particle used
with 驚き. ～に驚く is a common set phrase meaning "to be surprised _at_ ～". See
also: [に in コントロールに苦しまなくなった](https://japanese.stackexchange.com/q/72042/5010)

A literal translation is "There was a mild surprise at the fact that three
hands were all different".
CC BY-SA 4.0
2023-02-05T02:35:21.323
98483
2023-02-05T02:35:21.323
5010
98482
answer