🧑‍🎓"Gone to" or "been to"? What most textbooks get wrong | ENGLISH IN CONTEXT 👀

Most textbooks teach that if someone has "been to" a place, it means they went there and came back. It's a neat rule — and it's an oversimplification.
In this video ...I look at the real difference between "gone to" and "been to", and at why the standard textbook explanation misleads learners. "Been to" simply means having the experience of visiting a place at some point in the past. It says nothing about whether the person has returned — or ever will. Anna might be on a world tour, passing through Moscow on her way to Tokyo, and still say she's "been to" Moscow. Her friends might even say it to her while she's standing in Moscow.
The "gone and come back" rule isn't entirely wrong — it describes the most common context. But teaching it as a rule, without qualification, sets learners up for confusion.
What this video covers:

The real meaning of "gone to" and "been to"
Why "been to" does not necessarily mean "gone and come back"
Contexts in which the standard rule breaks down
Why understanding context matters more than memorising rules

I'm John R. Yamamoto-Wilson — formerly Professor of English Literature at Sophia University, Tokyo, with a PhD from the University of Cambridge. These videos are aimed at intermediate learners of English, and at the teachers who work with them. 📌 Part of the English in Context series — intermediate grammar points that textbooks often explain poorly or get wrong. Click here for the complete series: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzVb6yL_jY6_sKngAN_gYB8w-KC20AGP4

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Gone to or been to? What most textbooks get wrong | ENGLISH IN CONTEXT

🧑‍🎓"Gone to" or "been to"? What most textbooks get wrong | ENGLISH IN CONTEXT 👀

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Gone to or been to? What most textbooks get wrong | ENGLISH IN CONTEXT