Page 213 - Makino,Tsutusi.DictionaryOfIntermediateJGrammar

koto de 139

a-
men koto de represents a means, the preceding element must be a nonpast
verb regardless of the tense of the main clause. When koto de represents a
cause, the preceding element can be a verb, an adjective, or a copula in
&her the past or nonpast tense.
[Related Expressions]

I. Koto ni yori / yotte expresses the same idea as koto de.

between these conjunctions and koto de is that "S1 koto de ST can be
used only when the events, actions, or situations in S1 and S2 take place
at the same time, as in [3a]. Tame ni, node, and kara, on the other hand,
do not have this restriction, as in [3b].

(Because I didn't study very hard when I was a student,
{my parents often told me off / I am in trouble now].)
b. %LCiY&D@rn3 C1@S8iLha.97': Ifz@CZ / DT/ fi\%)
Ik<%!C3X%hfz /Q~:~~X%LTL\~I,
(Because I didn't study very hard when I was a student,
{my parents often told me off / I am in trouble now) .)
It should also be noted that tame ni indicates a cause, a reason, and a
purpose and that node and kara indicate a cause and a reason, while
koto de indicates a cause and a means, but not a reason.
(etame (ni) (DBJG: 447-51); node (DBJG: 328-31); kara3 (DBJG:
179-81))