Come to pass
Today’s English expression is “come to pass.” Broadly speaking when something “comes to pass,” it happens. That’s it; “come to pass” means “to happen.” However, we would use it in specific circumstances, so let’s walk through some of those now.
Number one, we use this expression when we predicted, expected, or feared, something would happen, and that thing either happened or didn’t happen. So, we start with a prediction and then we see if reality matches up with that expectation. Did the thing we predicted come to pass? Did it really happen?
Earlier in today’s lesson, you heard that health experts feared a twindemic , a twin-pandemic of COVID-19 and influenza last fall. Luckily, that didn’t come to pass. So, they feared that we would have a dual pandemic. That was the prediction. Fortunately, it didn’t happen. We didn’t have a twin pandemic because influenza was so mild last year. The twin pandemic didn’t come to pass.
In La Palma, Spain, the Cumbre Vieja volcano is erupting, at least as of when I’m writing and recording this lesson. On September 11, there was seismic activity under the volcano. Geologists predicted that these earthquakes could lead to an eruption. On September 19, the eruption came to pass.
Some scientists studying that volcano say that, at some point in the future, there could be an enormous eruption that causes the volcano to collapse into the ocean. That could send enormous waves crashing onto the coasts of Britain, Africa, and North America, potentially inundating cities like New York and Boston under a massive tsunami. That has not come to pass; let’s hope it never does come to pass.
You can also use this to talk about what might happen in the future. You can say something “may come to pass.” When you do that, you’re saying that something might happen in the future. Can you imagine a world in which Facebook and Instagram aren’t the dominant social media networks? At Facebook themselves, they certainly can imagine that. The youngest users prefer Snapchat and TikTok. It may come to pass that Facebook and Instagram are knocked from their perch as the leading social media networks. It hasn’t come to pass yet, but it might happen in the future.
Finally, you can use “come to pass” when you cast doubt on a possibility. As you know, Britain left the European Union. Scotland, however, did not support the move. Many Scottish residents had wanted independence from Britain even before Brexit. A vote to leave failed in 2014. Now, the Scottish National Party is itching for another vote on independence. If Scotland successfully votes to leave the United Kingdom, then it could set off a wave of independence movements all over, even in Europe. Northern Ireland, part of the UK, and Catalonia, a province of Spain, may also vote for independence. At this point, we don’t know if that will come to pass. We don’t know if that will happen. But it’s a possibility, even if a remote one. We can also say, “The chances of that coming to pass are low.”
Quote of the Week
Today’s quote of the week is from newspaper columnist David Brooks. He said, “Character is built during the confrontation with your own weakness.” His point was that we can identify the parts of our own personalities and characters that we don’t like and confront those head-on to improve. “Character is built during the confrontation with your own weakness,” says David Brooks.
See you next time!
And that’s all for today. Have you heard the term “Instagram for Kids”? The idea is for Instagram to develop a product specifically for kids under 13 years old. On Thursday’s lesson, you’ll learn whether that’s likely to come to pass or not.
If you can’t wait for Thursday, however, and you want even more Plain English, you can always get it on our website, PlainEnglish.com. If you join as a free member, you’ll be able to explore our over 400 lessons, all organized by topic. And you can now create your own customized playlist of Plain English lessons. As you browse the site, you might see lessons you want to review later. Just click that “Bookmark” button at the top of the page, and it will be added to your own personal playlist on your dashboard. We worked hard on that feature this year and we’re really happy to share that functionality with members of every level, including our free level members.
If you’re not yet a member online, just go to PlainEnglish.com and sign up—the first level is free, no credit card required. You know, some places ask you to put your credit card in for a “free” product. That’s not how we roll. It’s really free, no credit card number is required, so there’s no downside. Just go to PlainEnglish.com and you’ll see what to do from there.
See you Thursday!
Learn more expressions like this
