been

been [bi:n, bın US bın]

[: Old English; Origin: gebeon]

1.) the past participle of ↑be

2.)

a) used to say that someone has gone to a place and come back

been to

▪ I've never been to Japan.

have been to do sth

▪ Have you been to see the Van Gogh exhibition yet?

b) BrE used to say that someone has come to a place and left again

▪ The postman hasn't been yet.

3.) been there, seen that, done that

spoken used to say that you are no longer interested in doing something, because you already have a lot of experience of it

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WORD CHOICE: been in, been to, went to

Use been in when you are living or staying in a place : How long have you been in London? | He had been in hospital for several days.

Use been to when you have visited a place and come back again : Have you ever been to Kyoto? | She's been to the hospital for a check-up.

Use went to (the simple past) to talk about a specific trip you made in the past : Last May I went to a conference in Montreal.

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