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I am wondering how I express my feelings about an action that has already
occurred/been performed.

For example, how would I state the following:

  * I am happy to have returned home.
  * I am sad that I missed the train.
  * I am upset that I finished the apples.

My best guess for the first example is the following:  
帰った【かえった】ことが嬉しい【うれしい】。

However, I am unsure about my usage of こと. If it is correct are there other
ways of writing this kind of sentence that I should be aware of?

I know that の is also used for verb nominalisation but as far as I could find
online that would be wrong since the two actions are being performed at
different points in time, right?
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2017-07-12T01:32:22.493
50312
2017-07-12T08:41:53.663
2017-07-12T02:43:36.860
23927
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question
verbs past
How to express feelings about a performed action?
Yes, your use of ～た + こと construction is correct. You can express the
sentiment about an event that happened in the **past** at the moment of
feeling.

  * 家に帰れ **た［こと／の］** ‌がうれしい。  
*Equivalent of "happy that --" is typically expressed with potential form, especially for the action of yourself.
  * 電車を逃【の】がし **た［こと／の］** ‌が残念だ。
  * りんごを全部食べてしまっ **たこと** にうろたえている。

However, the sentiment toward **what has (just) happened** is simply described
with the successive function of te-form.

  * 家に帰れ **て** うれしい。
  * 電車を逃がし（てしまっ） **て** 残念だ。
  * りんごを全部食べてしまっ **て** うろたえている。
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2017-07-12T03:15:57.677
50314
2017-07-12T08:41:53.663
2017-07-12T08:41:53.663
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answer
> How to express feelings about a performed action?
>
> I am happy to have returned home.  
>  I am sad that I missed the train.  
>  I am upset that I finished the apples.

帰ったことが嬉しい is not wrong, but we don't really say it.

I think what you are looking for is ～ **して** よかった, or ～ **できて** うれしい.  
This is the way we say it.

帰れて良かった, literally saying "It's good that I've been able to have come back."

電車に乗り遅れて悲しい。乗れなくて残念。It seems it's always natural to say ～して悲しい, ～してがっかり,
～できなくて残念。

食べてしまって自分が腹立たしい。  
mm.. more realistically, it might be 食べてしまった。悲しい。
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2017-07-12T03:22:56.233
50315
2017-07-12T03:22:56.233
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answer