been /biːn, bɪn $ bɪn/
[Language: 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 something
Have you been to see the Van Gogh exhibition yet?
b) British English 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


GRAMMAR
been in, been to, gone to, went to
Use have been in to talk about living or staying in a place:
How long have you been in London?
Use have been to to talk about having visited a place and come back again:
She’s been to the hospital for a check-up.
Use have gone to to talk about having travelled to a place and not come back:
He had gone to Australia not long before.
Use went to to talk about a specific trip that someone made in the past:
Last May I went to a conference in Montreal.

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

been

1.
BAD: I hadn't been in Scotland before.
GOOD: I hadn't been to Scotland before.
BAD: Have you ever been in California?
GOOD: Have you ever been to California?

Usage Note:
been in = been living or staying in: 'I've been in Paris since the beginning of June.' 'How long has Wendy been in hospital?'
been to = gone to and come back from; visited: 'I've been to Paris three times.' 'I've been to the hospital to see Wendy.'

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2.
BAD: Last year I've been to England for a month.
GOOD: Last year I went to England for a month.
BAD: First of all we've been to UCLA to see Ray's brother.
GOOD: First of all we went to UCLA to see Ray's brother.

Usage Note:
When you are talking about a specific visit or trip that you made in the past, use went to (NOT have been to ). Compare: 'I've been to England and Italy, but I haven't been to France.' 'I went to England in 1993 and to Italy in 1994.'

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲