1. Collocates
Common collocates immediately preceding or following "come to light" include words related to information, evidence, secrets, documents, allegations, facts, scandals, abuses, and mistakes. These collocates often indicate something previously hidden that is now revealed, such as "new evidence comes to light," "documents came to light," or "scandals came to light."

2. Semantic Prosody
The phrase "come to light" carries a predominantly negative or revealing semantic prosody. It is frequently associated with the disclosure of wrongdoing, problems, or controversial issues (e.g., crimes, harassment, abuse, scandals). However, it can also be neutral or even positive when referring to discoveries or beneficial revelations, such as historical facts or scientific findings.

3. Register & Formality
"Come to light" is used across formal and semi-formal registers, particularly in journalistic, legal, academic, and official discourse. It appears in contexts involving investigations, news reporting, and formal discussions. Its usage is less common in informal conversation, where simpler phrases like "find out" might be preferred.

4. Phraseological Patterns
Common phraseological patterns include idiomatic or fixed expressions such as "new evidence comes to light," "secrets come to light," and "allegations come to light." It often appears in the passive voice ("was/were brought to light," "has come to light") and in temporal expressions referencing the timing of revelations ("only recently came to light," "has just come to light").

5. Grammatical Patterns
The phrase typically functions as a verb phrase with "come" as the main verb followed by the prepositional phrase "to light." It often appears in the intransitive form without a direct object, focusing on the event of revelation rather than an agent. The phrase is frequently used in the perfect or passive forms (e.g., "has come to light," "was brought to light").

6. Recurring Sentence Structures
Common sentence frames include: - Subject + "come(s) to light" (e.g., "New evidence has come to light.") - "It came to light that" + clause (e.g., "It came to light that the documents were forged.") - Passive constructions highlighting the process of revelation (e.g., "The scandal was brought to light by the investigation.") These structures emphasize the emergence or discovery of information.

7. Pragmatic Function / Discourse Role
"Come to light" serves a discourse function of signaling disclosure and unveiling of previously unknown or concealed information. It can be used to introduce new facts or evidence, often with an implication of surprise, seriousness, or consequence. The phrase also mitigates direct accusations by focusing on the information rather than the accuser.

8. Frequency & Dispersion
The phrase is frequent in news media, legal documents, historical accounts, and academic texts. Its dispersion shows a strong presence in contexts involving investigation, revelation of misconduct, or historical discovery. It is less frequent in casual speech but consistently used in professional and public communication.

9. Thematic Context (Topics)
Typical domains include legal and criminal investigations, political scandals, historical research, scientific discoveries, human rights abuses, and corporate misconduct. The phrase often appears in discussions about uncovering hidden truths, whistleblowing, or bringing to public attention issues of social or