These words all mean to come about or come to pass. Happen is a general term and is very widely used to mean to come to pass, especially by chance.

• It happened to rain that day.

It also means to chance upon or to come or go by chance.

• We happened to be in town on the night of the concert; I happened to enter the bank just at the very moment the robbery was taking place.

Befall is like happen in meaning to come about, but, while happen can be used in speaking about pleasant or unpleasant things, befall is almost always used in reference to something unpleasant.

• Disaster befell them when they were caught in Germany at the beginning of World War II.

Befall , too, is considered literary in tone, and suggests, much more than happen , that destiny or fate has played a part in the situation described.

• Bad luck and ill health befell him throughout his life.

Occur and take place are both equivalent to happen in the sense of to come to pass, but while occur can refer to something accidental or something planned, take place most often suggests the presence of design.

• The accident occurred despite all the precautions that had been taken to prevent it; The hearing is scheduled to take place tomorrow morning at eleven.

Transpire is sometimes used as a synonyms for happen , occur or take place in the sense of to come to pass: he told me what had transpired at the court hearing. Although widely used in this sense, transpire tends to sound stilted and affected. This usage is considered erroneous by many people.