Been and Gone are two different words used in vocabulary and grammar. Both of them are referred to as visiting places. They are used in the present perfect tense of grammar. It is better to understand with the help of examples. ‘They have gone to school, or yes, I have been to America.’ Here, in both of the sentences, the use of being in both sentences is different, even though it belongs to the same form of tense.
Both the words, been and gone, are used in totally different contexts and have different uses. They can never be used in each other’s places or replace each other. Most people use them incorrectly as they do not know their uses and accurate meaning.
Key Takeaways
- Been is used to describe completed actions that occurred in the past and have a connection to the present.
- Gone describes an action that occurred in the past and has no connection to the present.
- While both words describe actions that have occurred in the past, been emphasizes the connection to the present, whereas gone emphasizes the lack of connection to the present.
Been vs Gone
The difference between been and gone is that being in the past participle form of the word ‘be’ while gone is the past participle form of the word ‘go’. Been is used in order to describe visits that are completed as you go to a place and then come back, you will describe it as- I’ve been there.
Been is the past participle form of ‘be’. It is used to describe visited places. For instance- you visit a place and then come back from there, it says that you have been there. Like you visited that place in the past, but in the present, you are not there anymore. For example- yes, I have been to Switzerland.
Gone is the past participle form of the word ‘go’. It is basically used for describing a visit to a place, but the visit is not yet completed like the person that is visiting is still there. For instance- he has gone to the market, here he has visited the market and is not back yet.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of comparison | Been | Gone |
|---|---|---|
| Original word | Been is the past participle form of the word ‘be’. | Gone is the past participle form of the word ‘go’. |
| Uses | Been is used to express a visit when it is completed. | Gone is used to express a visit that is still not complete, and the person is still there. |
| Tense | Present perfect tense. | It is also used in the present perfect tense. |
| Action | While using been, the action is completed. | While using gone is the action is still going on. |
| Example | Yes, I have been to America. | He has gone to school. |
What is Been?
Been is the past participle form of ‘be’. It is used to describe visited places. For instance- you visit a place and then come back from there, it says that you have been there. Like you visited that place in the past, but in the present, you are not there anymore. For example- yes, I have been to Switzerland.
Been is used in the present perfect tense of a sentence. Been is used to denote an action that took place in the past and is done now. In the above example- I have been to Switzerland, it says that I went to Switzerland somewhere in the past, and now I am back from there and not there anymore.
What is Gone?
Gone is the past participle form of the word ‘go’. It is basically used for describing a visit to a place, but the visit is not yet completed like the person that is visiting is still there. For instance- he has gone to the market, here he has visited the market and is not back yet.
Gone is basically used to denote or express activities completed in the immediate past. The word’ just’ is used to make the sentence more meaningful and understandable. For instance- he has just gone shopping. It says that she has just left the place and went shopping, but she is not back yet, so the action is not completed.
When the word ‘just’ is not used in the sentence, it means that the action is completed in the past, not the immediate past, though. For instance- he has gone to Switzerland, which means that he is still there and might be settled there, so he is not back here.
Main Differences Between Been and Gone
- The main difference between Been and Gone is that Been is the past participle form of the word Be, while Gone is the past participle form of the word Go.
- Been is used to express those actions or activities that have been completed or the visits that are completed now while gone is used to express those visits that are still going on, and the person is not back from there.
- Been is used in the present perfect tense, and gone is used in the present perfect tense too.
- Been is used when the action is completed but gone is used when the action is still going on.
- Example of been- I have been to America. Here, the sentence says that I went there, and now I am back. Example of gone- he has gone to the market. Here the sentence says that he went to the market and is still there.
- https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=f78aMdJPkNIC&oi=fnd&pg=PA138&dq=difference+between+been+and+gone&ots=AMcze0sOz0&sig=vgkSrzExi8_4270MdLYavsODkc8
- https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/457353
Last Updated : 28 June, 2023
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Emma Smith holds an MA degree in English from Irvine Valley College. She has been a Journalist since 2002, writing articles on the English language, Sports, and Law. Read more about me on her bio page.
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