[Grammar] '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.

 

[crazYgeeK]

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.

I mean "did you go" is the past form of the question and "do you go" is the present form of the question. And "have you (ever) gone" is the present perfect form of the question, I think it doesn't go wrong here unless you suppose that the question "do/does + subject + go" has no present perfect form.
Did you mean "have you ever gone" is wrong ?
Thank you for your attention.

 

[philadelphia]

*Not a teacher

I would like it to be clearer for Heidi. If you take an English test, do answer 'has one ever been to/in'.

 

[Harry Smith]

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.

You are with me!

 

[bhaisahab]

I mean "did you go" is the past form of the question and "do you go" is the present form of the question. And "have you (ever) gone" is the present perfect form of the question, I think it doesn't go wrong here unless you suppose that the question "do/does + subject + go" has no present perfect form.
Did you mean "have you ever gone" is wrong ?
Thank you for your attention.

"Have you (ever) gone" is non standard. In BrE it's wrong, "have you (ever) been" is correct.

 

[crazYgeeK]

"Have you (ever) gone" is non standard. In BrE it's wrong, "have you (ever) been" is correct.

Is there any correct sentence including the word "gone" and the auxilliary have/has ? (in the present perfect tense)
Is this sentence correct? "I have gone to Vietnam for 7 days".
Thank you very much !

 

[TheParser]

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

***** NOT A TEACHER *****

Hello, Heidi.

(1) This "been/gone to" matter has also confused me a lot.

(2) While searching the Web, I found a good answer at this

website.

(3) Just go to the search box and type in " re: been vs. gone."

The first thread (from November 3, 2004) is most helpful.

***** Thank you for your question *****

 

[bhaisahab]

Is there any correct sentence including the word "gone" and the auxilliary have/has ? (in the present perfect tense)
Is this sentence correct? "I have gone to Vietnam for 7 days".
Thank you very much !

You can use it in the third person; "He has gone", "They have gone". "I have gone to Vietnam..." is incorrect.

 

[TheParser]

Is there any correct sentence including the word "gone" and the auxilliary have/has ? (in the present perfect tense)
Is this sentence correct? "I have gone to Vietnam for 7 days".
Thank you very much !

***** NOT A TEACHER *****

Hello, CrazYgeek.

(1) What an interesting question.

(2) I have always thought that your sentence was

"correct" English.

(a) For example: You telephone and my answering machine says:

Sorry to miss your call. I have gone to Vietnam for 7 days. Will return

next week. Please leave message and I will return your call upon

my return. Beep.

***** Thank you *****

 

[Allen165]

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?

Why would "Have you ever gone to the zoo?" be wrong?

 

[joemayerich]

"gone to" and "been to". Here is a good way to know when to use the correct one. If you are asking a question and you want to know if at any point in time, someone has traveled to a particular place, use "been to". Have you ever been to Phuket? Have you been to the zoo? etc. Use "gone to" for responses. "gone to" means that a person is there now and has not returned. Here are some examples. Where's Joe? He's gone to the restroom. That means he is there now and has not returned. I haven't seen Gina in a few days, where is she? She's gone to Hawaii. That means she is there now and hasn't returned. But I will be honest, I've heard a lot of native speakers ask a question in the form of "have you gone to?". I will know what you mean if you ask it that way but "been to" is what you should use when asking questions.