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has gone to (American English)
I'm trying to get a grip on the usage of "has gone to" in AmEng and finding it quite hard to understand the distinction between examples such as these?
He went to school every day this week. He has gone to school every day this week. He went to the concert many times. He has gone to the concert many times.
Maybe there's not all that much distinction?
Of course, in US English, you'd say actually something like "He's gone to the concert many times."
Of course, in US English, you'd say actually something like "He's gone to the concert many times."
And how does that fact affect the main question?
"He went to school every day this week" implies that the school week is over, whereas, "He's gone to school every day this week" means that he has only attended the school week thus far.
"He went to the concert many times" implies that the concert is over. The band has split up, moved to a different city, or something like that. "He's gone to the concert many times" implies that he could go again if he wished. So, "went" is in the past and there is no chance for it again in the future. "Has gone" is in the past, but may still be repeated. Hope that helps
<<And how does that fact affect the main question? >>
If you say "has" as a separate word, it's probably to emphasize it as in "He *has* gone to school every day this week.", which might be more equivalent to "He *did* go to school every day this week." "He's gone ..." seems like the more neutral form in US English, at least around here. ---- As Rene said, one possible difference between the two is that "He's gone ..." might be more appropriate on Friday at noon (or even Monday?), and "He went ..." might be more appropriate on Saturday. But then, I don't see anything wrong with saying "He went to school every day this week, so far."
How is "has gone to" specific to the US? That's basic standard English in any country.
<<How is "has gone to" specific to the US? That's basic standard English in any country. >>
"He has gone to the supermarket", when he is still there, is common to most, if not all, varieties of English, but "has gone to that concert several times", when he's at home, is not used in BrEng, as far as I know.
In British English, how do you express that someone has had the experience of going to the supermarket or going to a concert?
Would it just be "He has been to the supermarket." or "He has been to that concert several times." or are these unacceptable as well?
<In British English, how do you express that someone has had the experience of going to the supermarket or going to a concert? >
With the experiential present perfect, of course. <Would it just be "He has been to the supermarket." or "He has been to that concert several times." or are these unacceptable as well? > What does the "just be" mean in your sentence?
Quote:
c) More about American English One of the most subtle differences between World English and American English lies in the choice between present perfect and past tense. Although all of the World-English usages described above are perfectly acceptable and understandable in the USA and Canada, American English sometimes has a tendency to use the past tense where non-American speakers would use the present perfect: American: did you ever read "The Lord of the Rings"? World (including America!): have you ever read "The Lord of the Rings"? American: no, but I saw the movie World: no, but I've seen the movie Since both usages are acceptable within North America, the learner might be best advised to adopt the World usage - but she should not be surprised to hear the above alternatives from North-American speakers. http://web.t-online.hu/nyelvmark/perfect.html Back to our topic: He has been to that concert several times He has gone to that concert several times. Both those are used in American English, so might the learner also be best advised to adopt the "has been to" over the "has gone to" form in such contexts?
Both "alternatives" are fine in American English because these two "alternatives" mean different things, however subtle:
"have you ever read "The Lord of the Rings"? "No, but I saw the movie": "Oh when DID you see it?" "Last summer" This implies that the speaker definitely saw it once at a very specific time and/or place in the past and could probably tell you specifically where and when. Now the second "alternative" "have you ever read "The Lord of the Rings"? "no, but I've seen the movie" "Oh really, do you remember where or when?" "I've seen it a few times, but can't remember exactly when or where" (It could have been last week, last year, two years ago. When or how many times and if the speaker really cares is not clear) "No, but I've seen the movie" implies that the speaker has seen the movie *at least* once at an indefinite time in the past but it might get a long story if you want to know where or when. I think people (especially non-native speakers) tend to severely overgeneralize regarding Americans' use of verb tenses.
<<"He has gone to the supermarket", when he is still there, is common to most, if not all, varieties of English, but "has gone to that concert several times", when he's at home, is not used in BrEng, as far as I know. >>
I don't know that I buy this....where are our Brits, so they can answer this?
"He has gone to the supermarket" means he is there at present.
"He has GONE to the concert several times (already/today)" implies it is ongoing; today, he is probably back and forth between the concert and home. "He has BEEN to the concert several times" implies past actions.
So where is the real difference between americans' grammatic usage and british' grammatic usage? You people never seem to agree on what is american and what is british? Shouldn't you as native speakers know these things?
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