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You are in: Home > Grammar, Vocabulary & Pronunciation > Ask about English
Learning English
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 'been to' / 'gone to'
Flying to London
Mysun from Korea asks:

Please tell me the difference between: ‘Find somebody who has been to ·¡²Ô²µ±ô²¹²Ô»å.’ and ‘Find somebody who has gone to ·¡²Ô²µ±ô²¹²Ô»å.’
Roger replies:more questions

been is the past participle of be


gone
is the past participle of go

Been is used to describe completed visits. So if somebody from Korea has been to England twice, he or she has travelled there and back twice. If somebody has gone to England, he or she has not yet returned.

 

Consider the following:
  • 'Have you ever been to (= visited) India?'

  • 'No, but I would love to go there'. (= pay a visit)

  • 'Where have you been? You said you were coming home early!'

  • 'Oh, I went to see Alice and then we had supper.'

  • 'Where has Richard gone?'

  • '±á±ð’s gone to see Peter. He won’t be home for lunch.'

In your example sentence, Mysun, it would be difficult, if not impossible, to find somebody who has gone to England, for they would still be there!

 


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