Come true means to really happen, when something was only a dream, a wish, a prediction or a fear: My dream came true. The verb changes with the tense: comes true, came true, has come true.
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dream/wish/prediction + come(s) true; came true; has come true; a dream come true
- Moving to the seaside was a dream that finally came true last summer.
- Her worst fears came true when the company announced job cuts.
- Getting a place at this university is a dream come true for me.
What changed
First versionMy childhood dream became true when I got a job at the zoo.
RevisionMy childhood dream came true when I got a job at the zoo.
The idea of a dream becoming reality pushes learners towards become, hence became true. But this phrase uses come: dreams, wishes and fears come true. So became was changed to came.
In the phrase a dream come true, the verb doesn't change even when you talk about the past: The trip was a dream come true. If a person reaches a goal through their own effort, people more often say fulfil or achieve: She fulfilled her dream of opening a café.
Your turn
I had always wanted to see the northern lights, and last winter in Norway my dream finally ___.
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came true — A dream that becomes real comes true; in the past, came true. Became true may look logical, but with dream English uses come.
Write about a dream or wish of yours that came true. Say what you had hoped for and when it happened.
My wish to visit Japan came true in April, when I spent two weeks in Kyoto and Osaka.
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