[ no passive ] if sth dawns on you , you begin to realize it for the first time :
[+ that ]
Suddenly it dawned on me that they couldn't possibly have met before.
[ no passive ] if sth dawns on you , you begin to realize it for the first time :
[+ that ]
Suddenly it dawned on me that they couldn't possibly have met before.
Oxford Advanced Learner's English Dictionary. Оксфордский английский словарь для изучающик язык на продвинутом уровне. 2005