Hi, today let’s take a look at the difference between “been to” and “gone to.”
So, what is the difference between “Sam has been to the Pyramids” and “Sam has gone to the Pyramids?” The first sentence: “Sam has been to the Pyramids,” means he’s gone to the Pyramids and then returned. It’s there and back. He’s not in the Pyramids now.
Whereas Sam has gone to the Pyramids means that he has gone to the Pyramids and not come back, he is still there. So “been to” and “gone to” are both past participles and commonly used with the present perfect tense. So, “been” is from the verb to be, and gone is from the verb to go.
So let’s compare two sentences: Neil’s just been to the shop he bought some cakes. Would you like one?
Notice the “has” of “Neil has just been” has contracted to “Neil’s just been.” This is very common, and Neil’s just gone to the shop. He’ll be back in about ten minutes. Again we see the contracted form of has. In the first sentence, Neil is back from the shops, but the result impacts the present. This is why we use the present perfect tense.
There are some cakes now because Neil went to the shops. In the second sentence, Neil has not yet returned from the shop. So now it’s your turn.
. Fill in the gaps with either “been to” or “gone to”
- James is on holiday. He’s blank Italy. Gone too – he’s still on holiday in Italy.
So it’s gone too.
2. Are you going to the chemists? No, I’ve already bought medicine and shampoo.
Been. You’ve gone to the chemists and returned, so we used been without the “to” in this case.
3. Alice isn’t here now she’s blank the shop to buy some sweets. She hasn’t come back yet, so it’s gone too.
- Have you ever blank the Italian restaurant on the High Street? Been to – you’ve gone to the restaurant and returned. You’re not there now, so it’s been too. That’s it for now. So now you know the difference between “been to” and “gone to” in English.
Remember to comment below or show me that you can write a sentence using ‘been to’ and ‘gone to.’
And, when you are ready to start speaking English just like an American, click here: https://www.clkmg.com/getonid/1gh4b8
That’s it for now.
Thank you for taking the time to read.
