Adam
Alex
Benjamin
Emma
Gill
Jade
James
Rebecca
Ronnie
English Grammar: “BEEN TO” or “GONE TO”?
What’s the difference between “I’vebeen to London” and “I’ve gone to London”? Is there a difference at all? Watch this video to find out when to use been and when to use gone in present perfect sentences. English grammar can seem confusing, but here at EngVid we make things easier by breaking it down and explaining the logic behind it all. Once you understand the rules, you’ll know how to use the language. After you watch the lesson, make sure you understand it by taking the quiz. See if you can score 10/10 this time! Good luck!
Quiz
Test your understanding of this English lesson
Test your understanding of the English lesson by answering these questions. You will get the answers and your score at the end of the quiz.Levels
Lesson Topics
228 COMMENTS
Thank you sir….
You’re welcome! Thanks for studying with me, jin.
Thank you sir alex. My doubt has been cleared regarding this topic. Maybe in 5 years, I will have been to Canada.
Please correct me if there is any mistake sir alex. Thanks
I like this class.
Thanks a lot, Mangayuzo21. I’m happy to hear that. :)
issue on # 7.
It’s a tricky one, but it’s still a place that you’re going to go to in the future, so I’d stick with “gone.”
This was also little bit confusing to me. I thought “Gone” to launch and not get back.
I haven’t been there, and I haven’t yet return, because I haven’t even been there.
Why can’t be both answers correct in the second question? (“Where did Brenda go on vacation?”)
She could have returned from her vacation, couldn’t she? In that case, the answer with the verb ‘be’ would be appropriate.
You’re right. I should probably make the context clearer in the question itself.
greate Alex, super robota :-)
Haha. Dziekuje! Thanks for studying with me. I’m glad you enjoyed the video.
good lesson Alex, thanks, not to difficult for an “intermediate” like me :) but i need to see again, i had just 6/10.
Have a good day! :)
Try the quiz again in a couple of days! :)
Hello Alex, this time i got 7/10, it’s better, just the 2, 9 & 10 where i was wrong.
For the question 2, i think the question should be confusing
For the question 9, why we can’t say “they’ve been go home” ? it’s a go and back, no..?
see you!
Thank you Mr.Alex ,I’ve got 9 of 10 ,I just confused at the second Question why we’ve to say “she’s gone to Russia for a few week ” instead of she’s been !!
The idea is that she’s still in Russia. Sorry, maybe the context isn’t clear enough in the question!
oh it’s okay no need to be sorry thumps up Alex ;)
Yeah, me too!
Thank’s Mr: Alex. remove my confusion.
“Thanks, Mr. Alex, for removing my confusion.”
My pleasure, Hoque. I’m happy to hear that it’s clearer for you now.
Great lesson Alex. I got nine>>>
this is really confused! but helpful.
present perfect sometimes is very difficult according to the situation>>
“This is really confusing!” :)
I’m glad you liked the video. Good luck with your studies!
great class!!
Thanks, Mlop! I’m glad you liked it.
Thanks for watching this lesson, everyone! Keep the comments coming! :) Don’t forget to check me out on these platforms:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/AlexEnglishVid/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/AlexEngVid
If you enjoy the work we do at EngVid, and you’d like to show your support, you can make a financial contribution at the following link: http://www.engvid.com/support We appreciate every donation we receive.
Thank you!
Thank you for the lesson; indeed, it is educative.
My pleasure, Baba! Thanks for checking out the video and for your feedback. I’m glad the video was useful.
Thank you Alex for this lesson!
She’s gone grocery shopping.
=> “Gone girl” ;-)
Like the movie with Ben Affleck. Very exciting this Thriller!!!
But “Gone girl” in this case the meaning is “Ex girl friend”, right Alex?
It has been a long time since I’ve seen that movie. Wasn’t the “Gone Girl” a little girl who got kidnapped?…by Morgan Freeman’s police officer character? SPOILERS. :)
Not so quite.
She is suddenly on their 5th marriage anniversary disappeared.
And her husband (Ben Affleck) is seeking for her.
Later he is also suspected as a hijacker by the police.
A really good thrill movie!!!
Oh! I’m thinking of Gone Baby Gone.
Thank you very much for the lesson! I have a small question…) Why do we use “to” in the phrase “I’ve never been to China”, not “in”?
You typically go TO a place. IN is possible too, and is fine grammatically, but TO is the far more common usage. I would use “in” if I’m talking about living in a place.
“I’ve been in Montreal for 3 years.”
“I was in Montreal for 2 years. I finished my BA there.”
“We’ve been in Montreal for a long time.”
I hope this helps.
Thank you very much indeed )
Thank you for your classes..i got 10 out of 10..
Your secrets will be saved..future continuous tense has “ed” how??..i don know..clarify me
Could you give me an example of what you mean?
You said that future continuous tense has will be+verbing,
But “This work will be completed by 4 pm”.
“Your secrets will be saved” i don’t know how??clarify me
When you think you got all of the tenses nailed, then comes interesting surprise. All you have learned so far were “active tenses”, but there are also a “passive tenses”. What??? More? Yes. The idea behind passive tenses is to switch focus from object to subject.
Active (Past Simple): Peter robbed the bank.
In this case we focus on Peter (object) and bank (subject) is more important then Peter.
Active (Past Simple): Robber robbed the bank.
In this case we don’t know the name of the robber and we already know the robber did the robbing. In this case we can switch the importance from robber to the bank, and get passive tense:
Passive (Past Simple): Bank was robbed (by robber).
We can of course leave out “by robber”, because it is obvious.
You see, now bank (subject) is way more important that robber (object).
General forum for passive tenses is: be (in all sort of tenses) + past participle.
Past participle is verb+ed for regular verbs and third verb form for irregular.
Active (Present Simple): Millions of people watch TV show Big Bang.
Passive (Present Simple): Big Bang is watched by millions.
In this case the focus is TV show (subject).
And to your sample (Passive Future Simple). “Your secrets will be saved.”
Active Future Simple: “I will save your secrets.” This sounds little bit strange, of course “I” is the object, so lets focus on subject “your secrets” and so it becomes passive tense.
It is the same form: Object + be (in this case in future tense) + past participle.
There are many engVid videos on passive, see bellow.
Easy Introduction to PASSIVE
https://www.engvid.com/easy-introduction-to-passive/
English Grammar – Introduction to the Passive
https://www.engvid.com/english-grammar-passive-introduction/
The Passive: When, why, and how to use it
https://www.engvid.com/the-passive-when-why-and-how-to-use-it/
Thank you for this lesson.
You’re very welcome. Thank you.
Thanks Alex. Maybe I will try the quiz again in a couple of days
Good idea. :) Let me know how you do next time!
I’ve been waiting for this lession,however, I have to be honest,this topic is a really little bit confusing but surely I’m less confusing after watching the vídeo.Thanks again Alex!
No problem. I hope I’ve made it at least a little clearer.
Hi, Alex! Why does the sentence “We’ll have been in Montreal for three years by then” have future and present perfect together? I didn’t get how to use it.
This is the future perfect.
Will/be going to + have + PP
It means that something will or will not be complete by a specific time in the future.
Present Perfect is used to express some action started in the past and it is continuing all up to now.
Future Perfect is use to express some action that will happen in the future to exact point in time in the future.
For example, Future Simple: I will finish my painting. (Note: painting in this case is noun, like a picture).
The form: will + verb
In sample: will + finish
But what if we want to explicitly point out that painting is going to be finished till some exact point in time. Future Perfect Simple is used in this case.
Sample: Till the end of the day I will have finished the painting.
Form: Object + will have + past participle
And to get more fun, there is also Future Perfect Continues.
Sample: Till the end of the day I will have been finishing the painting (if you want to watch me the final touches of painting).
Forum: Object + will have been + verb-ing
I can’t find anything related to Future Perfect tenses on engVid. I may not searched enough or there is idea for new video. ;)
Ah… typo “they” it should be “day”.
Moderator, can you please fix the typo.
Thanks.
Fixed the typo—but I’d just like to jump in and correct your examples too. The first part should be By the end of the day. And you wouldn’t hear anyone say the last example. They might say I will be finishing the painting by the end of the day.
Damm–, another clumsiness, current: “I now find”, better “I have found”.
Would it be possible to and new feature on the forum, like user can edit his or her last comment for lets say 15 minutes or something.
Nice and useful lesson Mr Alex!Thanks a lot!!!
Btw, have you ever been to Spain???
Spaniards are waiting for you!!!
LOL. That sounds pretty intense! I’ve never been to Spain, but I want to go one day. I have some friends who have been to Barcelona and had a great time.
Thank you Alex
My pleasure! Thanks for studying with me.
Alex why does the option A of question 7 is better than the B. There is a matter of feeling as hunger is a state of feeling which persist until ones have taken a meal. So, what I think if we talk about location which requires movement , on that case we better to choose gone instead of been. Isn’t it!?
You typically “go” for lunch, so that’s one part of the answer here. You’re right they it’s active and that it hasn’t happened yet, so “Gone” is a bit better here.
Are you less or more confused now? :)
Haha, but if we standing in a kitchen ,preparing meal and somebody asks about the same question … ☺
I was imagining a different context…a work situation where your colleague wants to invite you for lunch, so they ask you if you’ve gone for lunch yet. :)
I got it. Thank you ,Alex! ☺ You are great!
I’v got 10 of 10. la-la-la!
Nice job! *high five* Keep it up.
It’s a great lesson
Thank you. I’m glad you liked it.
I just confused at the second :( But 9 o f 10 are good. Thank you Mr.Alex
That’s still great! Nice job, Victor.
Thank you Alex, great lesson.
You’re very welcome. Thanks for watching.
Hi Alex
Have you ever been to Algeria before,I’d to be for your reception
Thank you so much
You’re welcome. It’s good to know I have places to stay around the world if I travel! :)
You are great sir. I am from Nepal
Thank you very much for the lesson! I have a small question…) Why do we use “to” in the phrase “I’ve never been to China”, not “in”?
Hi Alex thank you for this lession.really great.I would like to know, have you ever been to India?
Thank you very much I understood. Then, very good teaching. Thanks Alex
You’re welcome! I’m glad you liked the video. Thanks for checking it out.
Hi Alex thanks for this amazing class about Been and Gone.
My pleasure! Thank you for studying with me and with EngVid.
10/10 Thank you very much:)
Nice job, Ola! :) Keep it up.
Thank you.
It’s very cool and understandable.
I’m from Ukraine and I’ve never been to Canada) but I want))))
I’ve seen videos of Ukraine. It looks like it has a lot of beautiful natural spaces. Poland is similar. And yes, definitely come to visit Canada one day! :)
Wow I got 8 correct :-D
Nice job, Varhan! Keep it up. The next step is recalling this material in a few days to see if you remember it better and can put it into practice.
Hi Alex , hope you will be fine…
Sir , I wanna ask you…. where can we use present simple tense……
Have you ever __________ to the Louvre?
In this question when I clicked on gone so it was incorrect but in first question like this it was said that “been” and “gone” both can be used.
The explanation that both “gone” and “been” can be used is something Alex talked about and it was new to me. Probably “gone” is more informal and “been” is strictly formal.
But it also told us: “If you want to be save…” use “been” if person has gone to some place and as RETURNED back from the place. In this case it is obvious (unless both are currently in Louvre, which would be pretty stupid question) they are not in Louvre (place near Paris with historically important palaces). In this case what the question is: Have you been there and obviously returned back?
Thank you Alex for this great lesson. I got 7 correct answers out of 10. For me it isn’t confusing but it isn’t automatic. I don’t succeed in expressing it without thinking a lot of what I have to tell. As a matter of fact, I wanted traduct quickly and I made mistakes. May be, a day I will need to reflect no more. It will be some time before I do. However, thanks to you and your good explanations I improve my english. Best regards. Marie-Claude
9/10 Thank you! # 7
Thanks for the lesson, it was very helpful for me, teacher….!!!
I need to practice more, 6 correct out of 10.
:(
thanks mr. Alex
but i have not understand the answer of question no 5
why we use both i think both will give another meaning, please i need to understand this point
thanks
Hi Alex. Thank you for this great lesson.
The lesson very enlightening!
Thanks teacher Alex.
“The lesson was very enlightening.” :)
You’re welcome, Sonia Maria. Thanks for studying with EngVid!
thank you alex.
I get 8 score out of 10. Well I need to practice more. :)
That’s still quite good. The next step is reviewing the material after a couple of days and checking if it’s clearer the second time.
Dear sir, It was a good lesson. I have got 7 out of 10. Alex would you please explain me causal sentence formation in brief I am getting confused on it
I didnt understand my second mistake) Maybe i confused,but i dont think so) Cause i made only one mistake in second quiz and chose “She has been in Russia” Where i was wrong?)
I didn’t , either. Maybe we need to watch it again.
The second question is:
“Where did Brenda go on vacation?”
a) She’s gone to Russia for a few weeks.
b) She’s been to Russia for a few weeks.
Been is used when someone goes somewhere and he or she RETURNS from the trip. Gone is used in the case when some has gone somewhere and has not yet return.
In this question. Breda is missing, obviously she has gone somewhere, because she is missed and so she hasn’t yet returned back.
This one was partly my fault, as the context wasn’t completely clear. My intention was to indicate that Brenda is STILL on vacation. She isn’t present in the conversation and is still in Russia. So the answer must be “She’s gone,” but maybe the context wasn’t clear enough.
Thank you for your clear explanation. I’ve never been abroad but I hope that someday I will be able to travel. 8/10 :)
Maybe this is because you are from Russia. You can travel thousands of kilometers and you are still in the country. I live in Slovenia, small European country, I travel 100 km in any direction and I get to the border easily.
It can be expensive, but it’s worth it in the end. I’m sure there’s a lot to see just in Russia!
Great explanation, great class,great teacher.
Thanks!
You’re too kind, zigmund. Thanks for your feedback and for studying with me. :)
Thank you so much! :D This lesson will help me a lot.
You’re quite welcome, Eca. I’m happy to hear that this is going to be useful for you. The next step is practicing what you’ve learned. Good luck!
thank you for teaching us
You’re welcome, cubarza. Thanks for studying with me and for your kind feedback.
thanks so much
You’re welcome! I hope the video was enjoyable and useful.
it was very interesting and now is more clear in my head thanks you a lot
You’re welcome! Just a reminder that you can say “Thanks a lot” or “Thank you a lot.” “Thanks a lot” is the more common collocation, though.
Thanks Alex, that explanation helped me a lot.
*high five* Nice! That’s great to hear. Now put it into practice!
Thanks!amazing teacher.
My pleasure! Thanks for watching and for studying with EngVid, Amanda!
This class is my first class. It is more interesting than I expected. I will keep going. Thank you, Alex.
Welcome to EngVid! I’m always happy to see some new faces. I’m especially glad that you enjoyed the lesson. Good luck with your studies!
I really appreciate your classes!
Thank you!
You’re welcome! Thanks for checking out the video and for studying with me. Have a good one, Rafael.
Hi Alex, I’d appreciate it if you could make a lesson on the difference between suffer and suffer from.
I am not a native English speaker, but like I understand it.
Sample:
They have tortured me, so I physically suffered. They didn’t have any nice word about me, so I suffer mentally.
“Suffer from” means you have some disease. Patient suffers from schizophrenia. It means patient has a disease called schizophrenia.
Thx 4 ur comment but it’s not that easy. You will hear people say “suffer a heart attack (not suffer from a heart attack)” and “suffer from cancer (not suffer cancer)”. Are they collocations or any differences in the usage? Enlighten me Alex ~
Hi Alex. Thanks a lot
You’re very welcome, elham! Thanks for watching the video and for studying with me.
thank you.
you are the beast
Beast or best? I like both! Haha. A beast is a wild animal.
Thank you for lesson, Alex! I’m begginer=) and it will be perfect if all teachers will speak slow down… Спасибо!
Hi Olga, we have beginner, intermediate, and advanced lessons. Just check out the links at the top of the page to select videos that are better for your level. This is an advanced lesson, so I spoke as close to my natural speaking speed as I could.
Very useful this video!
“This video is very useful!” :)
Thanks, Ana. Good luck with your studies!
Many thanks for your interesting lesson, Alex.
You’re quite welcome, vuhuunhu. I had a good time making this lesson, and I hope you had a good time watching it.
Thank you Mr Alex. You enlighten us about this confusing topic. But I have question about preposition. Is this correct? Have you ever been in China?
You typically go TO a place. IN is possible too, and is fine grammatically, but TO is the far more common usage. I would use “in” if I’m talking about living in a place.
“I’ve been in Montreal for 3 years.”
“I was in Montreal for 2 years. I finished my BA there.”
“We’ve been in Montreal for a long time.”
I hope this helps.
Always helping me Alex, thanks man ;-)
My pleasure. Thanks for checking out the lesson!
You have been one of the best teachers I´ve ever had. I have learnt a lot by watching your videos, I have put into practice new vocabulary and my students have learnt that grammar can be easy and fun at the same time.
Hi sir, I got 90 because I don’t know about the both :)
Dear Alex, thank you so much for your lesson!
Could you pls give some comments on the 2nd sentence of the quiz, because I can’t get it. It’s not clear to me which one is correct.
Thank you in advance:)
Besides your good lessons, thank you for taking time to answer our questions Alex.
HI SIR,
I am your great fan and i have asked you a few english grammatical questions on your Facebook page. I am here with a new doubt.
Do both HAD BETTER & WOULD RATHER HAVE the same meaning ?
1. I HAD BETTER go for a job than sit here.
2. I WOULD RATHER go for a job than sit here.
Can we add ” than ” with HAD BETTER as we use with would rather? Are the above sentences are same in meaning? Please clear my doubt. Thanks.
Thanks sir
It’s really helpful.
Thank you so much but I think this lesson it needs a more time to let us understand.
i love the lesson. when will you have the advanced class?
Thank you, Alex! I loved the lesson. Very cleary <3
Please , explains no .7
Excellent lesson. Thaks a lot Alex
Hi Alex,
Thank you for the class.
I got 9 out of 10 and It is very sweet of you that you have replied most of the comments.
good lesson thanks alex
I ‘VE GOT 10 CORRECT TENSES
excellent lesson! thanks!
Thanks for your lecture. This video is very helpful.
You say that we use Pres. Perf. with go because we want to underline that the action is recent. But when we use be ( past participle ) the action is not recent. I mean the action happened and we have one more action – he came back. Why for me its so strange to use Pres. Perf. in this case ?
Great job
hi.your video is not in my page. and I can not watch them.I am a new comer to your website.how can I watch your video and download them thanks alot
Hi! All our videos are on YouTube, which may be blocked in your country. You may have to find a way around it.
can i say in the 2 question-where Brenda went on vacation instead where did Brenda go…?
i like you t-shirts :D keep up the good work!
Great lesson.
Great and useful lesson.
simple easy clear thanks all the best to you
can we use gone for a question?
It is very fruit full for me.
Thank you Sir, great lesson for me.
You are so good, You have a excellent way to explain allthings, congratulation
Thanks Alex.
Thanks a lot!
You are the best.
Well, at least I got 7 out of 10. It is good.
My wrong answer of these questions are 2, 5 and 7.
Thanks for this exellent lesson.I got 10
Thanks a lot.
I got 10 ?
good explaination. Now i can use them in proper manner…thank you sir
Great class!
Great video, helped a lot. thanks man!
Thank you sir m feeling good to got 100
thnk you sir Alex :)
Hello Boss,
Could use “I am been following” Is it correct usage? because of nowadays I was received a text message as mentioned above.
I am looking forward a reply
Thanks
Shameer
Hello, Alex! Thank you for this amazing lesson! I have a question to ask you.
When someone asks you “Where did Brenda go on vacation?” it means that the event was in the past and the most likely scenario is that Brenda has returned home now. So, I think the reply “She has BEEN to Russia” looks more logical than “She has GONE to Russia”. What do you think about it? Many thanks for your help!
Thanks so much Alex, your explanation is very clear how to use been and gone.
8/10 Thanks Alex!
Thanks Alex for you all lessons.
7. Did you already have lunch?
No, I haven’t gone yet. (negative answer)
OR
Yes, I have been./ Yes, I did. (positive answer)
Which one is correct for positive answer?
Thanks…
I really love your videos. They are very understanble.
Hello sir,Please tell me the english grammar books, in which i can cover all aspects of grammar. After reading that i don’t feel to read more grammar in future. Of course,practice will be continued gradually and i am student of post graduate.i want to become a writer in future and i want to adopt english as my native language. Please help me in this regard. I will be very grateful to you
Hi. Alex. I want to know this.
‘I have never gone to Canada’ is correct?
Thank Alex, great lesson.
A very challenging topic.Thank you very much, well presented.
Hi Alex.
I am surprised that you never explained that you can use both words in the same sentence. eg: Question-“Has Bob turned up yet”? Answer-“I’m afraid you’ve missed him. He has been & gone already”.
Thank you so much Alex :) you’re an amazing teacher Gd bless you :D
wow,ive been visited many countries . good to know difference.
thank you so much
my dear teacher why donot say (he has gone to grocery shopping )instead of gone grocery shopping .
OMG ? ??? thanks a lot!!!
I’m so grateful with you Alex, greetings from Mexico, an I hope that you can read my comment one day…
Thank you so much. This is great class
Thanks
Very clear!
Thanks
Very clear!
Thanks
well explained
TQ SIR..I ONLY MANAGED TO GET 7/10
NEED TO STUDY AND REVISE MORE
Thanks Alex, this lesson about Been & Gone is very important for me ,now I’ll manage both verbs.
as always a big thank you alex!?
Thank you so much! I love your videos and explanation. :)
Thank you, Alex! Excellent lesson!
Thanks Alex for this lesson.. it’s very interesting.
Thank you very much!
Got 8. Made mistake in number 5 and 7 . Thanks a lot!! so helpful.
Really useful lesson. Thank you!
I watched this video one more time on June 11, 2021, and took the quiz after watching it. I got nine correct out of 10.
I watched this video twice on June 11, 2021, and took the quiz after watching it once. I got nine correct out of 10.
Thanks a lot tr.Alix
8/10
Thanks a lot Alex,hugs. (Kazakhstan, 14Sept2021);
I love watching your lessons.
thanks a lot Alex
Thank a lot
Thank you Teacher Alex.
Thank a lot, Alex! You are great teacher!
I got9/10.thanks
About been to/gone to you May have missed “ gone to” meaning attended a certain school or type of school like university. I notice you are using a certain American accent where you pronounce “been” like “bin”. That’s mostly West Coast. Lower ability students might find that confusing.
It’s so useful but I can’t understand properly.
Good lesson I had 7/10
Thank you 😊
Thank you for the lesson ,very helpful and very useful information 🤗
Been and gone , been a tricky tense but it’s understandable now. Thanks
You explained very well but Been example 3 is difficult. Can you make more video about this topic please? Thanks
Thank you Alex. The lesson was very helpful. I’m less confused now.
Thank you Alex for your explanation. It is a very useful topic for everyone.
Thanks a lot for the video Alex! You’ve just boosted my confidence in using ‘been’ and ‘gone’ in my daily conversations. Looks so easy now. Cheers!
2. Where did Brenda go on vacation?
She’s gone to Russia for a few weeks. But ask where did she go. So, her vacation was in the past. It is finished. She is not on vacation anymore. She was in Russia on her vacation. So, she has been to Russia for a few weeks.
7. Did you already have lunch?
No, I haven’t gone yet. Of course you haven’t gone. I can see you, you are here, you haven’t gone anywhere. But have you been at the cafeteria and had lunch? So, the correct answer is I haven’t been there yet.