I have been to or I have been in?

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indifferent

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I have been to Britain... (eg. three times). But what about time period? Is there the same rule ( ,,I have been to Britain for two days'' or ,, I have been in Britain for two days''?
 

indifferent

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Which of the sentences is the most appropriate:
1. "I have been to a scholarschip in England for 2 years.''
2. ''.................on...................in..............................
3. ''.................to....................to.............................
4.''...................on...................to...........................
 

Roman55

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I am not a teacher.

'Been to' is dynamic and means gone/travelled to so it would be followed by the number of times. 'I have been to Britain twice.'

'Been in' is stative and is followed by a duration. 'I have been in Britain twice.'
 

Matthew Wai

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1. "I have been to a scholarschip in England for 2 years.''
I have been on a scholarship in England for two years.

'Been in' is stative and is followed by a duration. 'I have been in Britain twice.'
Is 'twice' a duration? Should it be 'two days'?

Not a teacher.
 
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emsr2d2

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No, "twice" is not a duration. It defines how many times something has happened.

I have been in Britain for two days = I arrived in Britain two days ago and I am still here.
I have been to Britain twice = In my life, I have visited Britain on two separate occasions (duration of visit not specified)

I find "I have been in Britain twice" rather unnatural.
 

Matthew Wai

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If the speaker is no longer in Britain, it should be 'I was in Britain for two days'.

Not a teacher.
 

tzfujimino

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Is 'twice' a duration? Should it be 'two days'?

Hello, Matthew.:)

Yes, it should.
It is very likely that Roman copied and pasted the sentence ('I have been in Britain twice') and forgot to change the 'twice' to something else.

:)
 

MikeNewYork

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I have no problem with "I have been in Britain twice".
 

Roman55

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It is very likely that Roman copied and pasted the sentence ('I have been in Britain twice') and forgot to change the 'twice' to something else.
:)

Very perceptive of you. That's exactly what happened.
 
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