ネイティブが教える！ビジネス英語テクニック -　Using ‘Gone’ and ‘Been’ Correctly
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In the last blog I set two problem questions. Let’s look at the answers:

 

1. Susan hasn't come back to the office yet. I think she has been gone to a seminar for the day.

Gone = went away and hasn’t returned yet.

1. A: Are you going to visit your client today? B: It's okay. I have already gone been.

Been = went away and has already returned.

 

In this lesson, we will look at using ‘gone’ and ‘been’ correctly.

 

 

Gone

 

We use 'gone' when someone goes somewhere and hasn't returned yet. So, if your colleague went to Paris and has not returned yet, we should say 'my colleague has gone to Paris'.

 

• Our president has gone to meet a client. He won't be back until the end of the day.
• Jane is on holiday. She has gone to Korea.

 

Been

 

We use 'been' when someone went somewhere and came back already. The person must have already returned to the place they usually live or work after going away or going out somewhere. So, if your counterpart went to Thailand last week and then came back yesterday we can say 'my counterpart has been to Thailand'

 

• I've just been to the coffee shop. Does anyone want one of these lattes?
• A: Why are you wearing your best suit?
• B: I've just been to a job interview for a job in Tokyo.

 

In the next blog, we will look at using ‘recommend’ correctly. Can you spot the mistakes in these two sentences?:

 

1. My boss recommended me to work harder.
2. Jamie recommended Sarah to visit Thailand.

 

We will look at the answers in detail next time.