I have been on holidays vs I was on holidays.

[tufguy]

Could you please tell me what is the difference between "I was on holidays" and "I have been on holidays?" People say after coming back from holidays "I have been on holidays for a while" I think they can say "I was on holidays". What is the difference could you please explain?

Please check.

 

[ChinaDan]

They both mean more or less the same; the difference lies in how they would be used in a context.

By the way, while "holidays" is common usage, strictly speaking it should be "holiday".

"Where were you last week?"
"I was on holiday".

"How did you get so tanned?"
"I have been on holiday".

 

[tufguy]

They both mean more or less the same; the difference lies in how they would be used in a context.

By the way, while "holidays" is common usage, strictly speaking it should be "holiday".

"Where were you last week?"
"I was on holiday".

"How did you get so tanned?"
"I have been on holiday".

So they mean almost the same?

 

[ChinaDan]

Their meanings are the same. Their usage differs.

To use each correctly, their respective sentence structures would be different. To use each naturally, the context would (probably) be different.