Come To

Question

HiCan I use "come to" as a substitute of "happen to". Ex.: "Oh, the cosy atmosphere I came to experience during my staying in that resort!"Thank you.

Clive · Accepted Answer

I came to experience X.
X happened to me.

Yes.
To my mind, 'came to' also hints that it happened by accident.

Clive

Interventizio · Answer

Thank you Clive. +1.

CalifJim · Answer

InterventizioOh, the cozy atmosphere I came to experience during ~~my staying in~~ my stay at that resort!

I don't see this as exactly the same as " ... I happened to experience ..." in the given sentence.

For something to happen to occur sounds like a description of an unexpected event, whereas when something comes to occur, the emphasis is on the fact of the occurrence, and usually on the moment of the occurrence. There aren't many verbs that follow the idiom "come to" very comfortably.

I happen to know him very well.
~ [As it happens / As it turns out] (contrary to what you may have believed), I know him very well.
I came to know him at an international conference.
~ [I met him / I was introduced to him] at an international conference.

He happened to have the key with him. ~ As it turns out, and somewhat unexpectedly, he had the key with him.
I have no idea how he came to have the key. ~ I don't know how he got possession of the key.

CJ

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