I have never been to London -> I am IN London?

[Nightmare85]

Hello guys,
I heard it was not good to say:
I have never been in London.
It's better to say:
I have never been to London. :up:

But, have been is a form of be.
And forms of be are also was and is (and of course more).
However, it sounds strange to say:
I am to London. :-?
So I really would like to say:
I am in London. :up:
Last week I was in London. :up:

Can you please tell me if I'm right and why it is as it is?

Cheers!

 

[emsr2d2]

Hello guys,
I heard it was not good to say:
I have never been in London.
It's better to say:
I have never been to London. :up:

But, have been is a form of be.
And forms of be are also was and is (and of course more).
However, it sounds strange to say:
I am to London. :-?
So I really would like to say:
I am in London. :up:
Last week I was in London. :up:

Can you please tell me if I'm right and why it is as it is?

Cheers!

I am in London is correct. When you are talking about your current/past location, and that location is a city, you use "in". Remember that you wouldn't always use "in" (for example, I am at the airport) but with cities/countries, we use "in".

I have never been to London. It's true that "never been/have not been" is related to "to be" but in this case "I have never been to" actually equates to "I have never travelled to".

Q - What have you been doing?
A - I've been to the shops.

Q - Where have you been [on holiday] this year?
A - I've been to Portugal and Italy.

 

[Nightmare85]

Thanks,
But what about was?
I was in the shops yesterday.
I was in Portugal and Italy last year.
Is that okay:?:

Cheers!

 

[emsr2d2]

Thanks,
But what about was?

I was in the shops yesterday. This is why English is so annoying! It would be "I was at the shops"!

I was in Portugal and Italy last year. There's nothing wrong with this but we would just be more likely to say "I went to Portugal and Italy last year" as that makes it more clear that it was a holiday. "I was in..." would suggest a more long-term basis.

Is that okay:?:

Cheers!

See above.

 

[beachboy]

On the other hand, it would be possible to say I was in Portugal last year when the baby was born.
Not a teacher.