Using "come to light"

English as a Second Language
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Does this sentence sound natural?

As soon as I met Josha’s family, everything came to light.

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The sentence “As soon as I met Josha’s family, everything came to light.” is grammatically correct and mostly natural, but its tone is slightly formal or dramatic. The phrase “everything came to light” is often used in contexts involving hidden truths, secrets, or revelations—so if that’s your intended meaning, it works well.

Alternatives for different tones or contexts:

  • More conversational:
    “As soon as I met Josha’s family, everything made sense.”
    (If you’re referring to understanding Josha better.)

  • More dramatic or mysterious:
    “The moment I met Josha’s family, the truth came out.”
    “Meeting Josha’s family revealed everything.”

Let me know the tone or context you’re aiming for, and I can tailor it even more.

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It’s an exercise in a book of learning English (“ENGLISH IDIOMS IN USE”) that we should complete the sentence with the correct choice.
The sentence is: “As soon as I met Josha’s family, everything … .”

The correct answer (in the book) is “fell into place”, but I thought that “came to light” can also be a correct answer. So I asked to be sure about it.

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Thanks for the context! In this case, the idiomatic expression “fell into place” is definitely the best fit for that sentence in a learning exercise.

Why?

  • “fell into place” means that things suddenly make sense or become clear in an understandable way—perfect for the idea that meeting Josha’s family helped you understand everything.
  • “came to light” usually implies that something hidden or secret has been revealed, often with a more serious or investigative tone.

So, although “came to light” is grammatically correct, it changes the meaning to something more like a secret or unknown fact being exposed. For this exercise, “fell into place” is the natural, idiomatic choice.

Would you like me to explain the difference between these idioms more?

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You’re not a native speaker, any one can see and hear that, but if you really want to learn idioms… spend some time in Britain, like I did, and you’ll find out there’s much more to it than meats the eye than what is written in your little ‘English Book’, okay?

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