Have you ever gone bungee jumping? Or, Have you ever been bungee jumping?
Which one is correct, and why? Please explain.
Thank you in advance!
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3Does this answer your question? Have you ever been to London? Have you ever gone to London? Also “have you ever gone to” to ask past experience. – FumbleFingers Jul 31 '21 at 12:47
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...with "bungee jumping", there's not really any scope for the *been / gone* choice to have any semantic implications. But arguably with Have you ever been / gone to Spain?, the *been* version places more emphasis on *the actual time spent in Spain* (compare Have you ever been in* Spain?), where the gone* version more overtly refers to *the journey to get there*. – FumbleFingers Jul 31 '21 at 12:53
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Could you please undelete your first question. I have edited my answer, I hope it is clearer and I think this question is useful to future visitors. By the way, why did you delete it? I'm curious to know, thanks. – Mari-Lou A Aug 01 '21 at 11:43
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They are two slightly different ways of asking exactly the same question. Both are idiomatic English.
However, the two verbs in question, be and go can signify different things in other contexts.
To say:
My friends have gone sailing would mean that they have departed the scene with the intention of sailing. It does not clarify whether they have arrived at the water, are still sailing or have finished sailing.
To say:
My friends have been sailing signifies that they have already finished sailing.
However, as you have phrased your questions, no such distinction can be drawn between them.
Ronald Sole
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The original sentence has "ever", as in “Have you ever gone* to Mexico?” people say it, but under exam conditions the more formally "correct" version would be to replace gone* with *been* because if I am talking to you, it suggests that we are not currently in Mexico, the location. It seems to me it's different with activities such as skiing, sailing or bungee jumping. – Mari-Lou A Aug 01 '21 at 12:02