'gone to' or 'been to'?

[Heidi]

Dear teachers,

Is the question 'have you ever gone to the Taipei City Zoo' asking about the same thing as 'have you ever been to the Taipei City Zoo'?

Thank you!

ps. 'Taipei City Zoo' is a place in the city where I live

[Harry Smith]

Dear teachers,

Is the question 'have you ever gone to the Taipei City Zoo' asking about the same thing as 'have you ever been to the Taipei City Zoo'?

Thank you!

ps. 'Taipei City Zoo' is a place in the city where I live

You can't ask: Have you ever gone to the Taipei City Zoo? The correct variant is:'Have you ever been to the Taipei City Zoo'? You can say: Did you go to the Taipei City Zoo?

[Heidi]

You can't ask: Have you ever gone to the Taipei City Zoo? The correct variant is:'Have you ever been to the Taipei City Zoo'? You can say: Did you go to the Taipei City Zoo?

Dear Harry,
Is it common to ask "Have you ever been in the Taipei City Zoo", and it still means the same thing as "Have you ever been to the Taipei City Zoo"?

Thank you!

[Tdol]

To me, it has a bit of a different meaning:
been to = visited
been in = entered

[joham]

Collins Cobuild Usage:
go--have gone & have been
I've never gone to Italy. (AmE)
Have you ever been to France or Germany? (BrE)

Do native Americans agree with this? Thank you in advance.

[Heterological]

Dear teachers,

Is the question 'have you ever gone to the Taipei City Zoo' asking about the same thing as 'have you ever been to the Taipei City Zoo'?

Thank you!

ps. 'Taipei City Zoo' is a place in the city where I live

You can say, "have you ever gone to..." and it will be understood by native speakers to mean the same thing as "have you ever been to...", but the latter is preferable.

Collins Cobuild Usage:
go--have gone & have been
I've never gone to Italy. (AmE)
Have you ever been to France or Germany? (BrE)

Do native Americans agree with this? Thank you in advance.

American English uses both variants. Also, I think you meant to write, "native American English speakers," not "native Americans." Native Americans are descendants of the indigenous people who inhabited the American continent before the arrival of the white settlers.

[SoothingDave]

Dear Harry,
Is it common to ask "Have you ever been in the Taipei City Zoo", and it still means the same thing as "Have you ever been to the Taipei City Zoo"?

Thank you!

Not a teacher.

I would read "have you ever been in the zoo?" as asking me if I was ever on display as one of the animal exhibits.

I agree with Heterological that your original two sentences ("gone to" or "been to") are both equally understandable to a native speaker.

[Harry Smith]

Not a teacher.

I would read "have you ever been in the zoo?" as asking me if I was ever on display as one of the animal exhibits.

I agree with Heterological that your original two sentences ("gone to" or "been to") are both equally understandable to a native speaker.

So do I agree with it...And which is grammatically correct:gone to or been to? I vote for "been to"... I never teach my students to say "gone to". Instead if it they use "went to"... Can you give your reasons if I am mistaken?

[crazYgeeK]

If "have you ever gone to... " is not grammatically correct, the sentence "did you go to ..." or "do you go to .." would be incorrect too.
Thank you !

[bhaisahab]

If "have you ever gone to... " is not grammatically correct, the sentence "did you go to ..." or "do you go to .." would be incorrect too.
Thank you !

No, because when you use the auxilliary do/did the verb is in the bare infinitive, so "did you go" and "do you go" are correct.