Happen vs. Occur vs. Take Place

Happen & Occur:


Both have the SAME meaning, but occur is more formal.


You can’t use happen with “ideas”, e.g:


“That idea never occurred to me” OK


“That idea never happened to me” WRONG.


Take Place:


Use it with: planned event, something specific


Scale:


Occur ---- Formal


Happen ---- Average


Take Place ---- Informal






Occur and Happen are verbs and in this context they express spontaneous situations. Take Place is a phrasal verb, and it works with planned events.