99969
This is about this scene from volume 33 of Attack on Titan (hidden to prevent
spoilers, continue reading the question at your own risk)

> [![enter image description
> here](https://i.stack.imgur.com/ru38J.jpg)](https://i.stack.imgur.com/ru38J.jpg)

I feel I'm close to understanding this sentence but some parts don't make
sense:  
「まさか。。。こんなのんびり過ごすことになるなんて。。。思いもしなかったよ」  
I understand it as "I can't believe we spend our time leisurely, the thought
of (spending our time leisurely) didn't become (my own thought), you know"

This part:  
「まさか。。。こんなのんびりすごす」actually modifies the 「こと」 that comes after it and its
meaning on its own is "I can't believe I\we get to spend our time in such a
relaxed manner" or something of the sort.

Next, that 「こと」 is is the target of the other sentence:  
「ことになるなんて。。。思いもしなかったよ」- which is the hard part for me. It seems that the
sentence means that "My thoughts didn't become this こと". What I don't get is
going on with the 「なんて」 and 「しなかった」because the sentence already has a verb
「なる」so why not say 「ことになんて思いもならなかったよ」or maybe there are actually three
sentences here:

  1. 「まさか。。。こんなのんびりすごす」- modifies the 「こと」
  2. 「ことになる」- modifies the 「なんて思い」
  3. 「思いもしなかったよ」- His thoughts never "did" the "becoming" of his situation.

Thanks in advance!
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2023-06-15T06:08:48.947
99966
2023-06-15T14:31:29.800
41223
question
translation manga reading-comprehension
Noun modifying clauses and なんて
思いもしなかった is 思わなかった with も inserted for the sense of “not even.” Though it
might look like a noun, this 思い should be seen as part of a verb. In fact, `[V
ます-stem]-はする／しない` and `[V ます-stem]-もする／しない` work for any verb.

> こんなのんびり過ごすことになるなんて思わなかったよ [without も]

こんなのんびり過ごすことになる is a quoted clause that denotes what the speakers didn’t
(even) think. So the verb なる is used inside a separate clause from する
(actually 思う). なんて here works as a quotation marker with a dismissive tone. In
this particular context, it emphasizes the unexpectedness of the result (along
with まさか) compared to just と（は）.

> こんなのんびり過ごすことになると（は）思わなかったよ [without も and なんて]

こんなのんびり過ごす indeed modifies こと, but the subject of なる is not “my thoughts.”
Remember the whole of こんなのんびり過ごすことになる is what the speaker didn’t think. “My
thoughts” don’t kick in yet. The subject here is like “it” referring to the
situation surrounding the speaker. ことになる adds a sense of “to turn out” or “to
end up.”

> こんなのんびり過ごすと（は）思わなかったよ [without も, なんて and ことになる]
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2023-06-15T14:31:29.800
99969
2023-06-15T14:31:29.800
43676
99966
answer