April
Difference between "been to "and "gone to" 1. Have you gone to the bank? 2. Have you been to the bank? What's the difference? Previously I though "gone to "means the person haven't come back yet while "been to "implies the person went there before and now he/she has come back. But if this explanation is right, then it's impossible to say the first sentence because the person should still be in the bank...I feel confused now. Thank you very much!
Jan 24, 2012 7:33 AM
Answers · 8
3
The first question is possible if it's a phone conversation: "Where are you? Have you gone to the bank?" This basically means "You're not here, but I think you may be at the bank, or on your way there." "Have you been to the bank?" may be asking why the listener has money now, or where they were a short while ago, or if a bank errand has been completed. Don't feel confused. This is simply using a past action to explain a current situation.
January 24, 2012
2
-'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 Norway 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. Here are some examples; -Have you ever been to (= visited) Norway? No, but I would love to go there. (= pay a visit) -Where have you been? I went to see Alice and then we had supper.' -Where has Richard gone? He’s gone to see Peter. He won’t be home for lunch.
January 24, 2012
Well, I think that the simplest and perhaps most useful answer is that "been to" and "gone to" almost always mean exactly the same thing. I do see the answers above but I think this is really splitting hairs. The difference they are describing may be true in some intellectual way. But I just think that in reality, people almost always use "been to" and "gone to" interchangeably. Or at least that's how it is in the US.
January 24, 2012
"Gone" is a past form from "go", and "been" is a past form from "be". "Have you gone to the bank" - we ask if he went to the bank. "Have you been to the bank" - we ask if he was in bank at all.
January 24, 2012
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