About: have gone to

Question

I have gone to Seoul three times and returned home.

1. Could this sentence (which I made) mean the experiences that I have gone to Seoul?

2. Is it acceptable?

3. Is the meaning of the sentence interchangeable with this sentence 'I have been to Seoul three times and returned home'?

(I have read lots of questions like it, but it is not related to those directly, so that I've written it.)

Answer 1

I have gone to Seoul three times.

Is perfectly grammatical, although we would probably say, "I have been to Seoul three times," in most contexts. However:

I have gone to Seoul three times in search of the best bibimbap.

Sounds more natural to me than "been," because "to go" is more purposeful and less passive.

I have gone to Seoul three times and returned home.

Sounds odd to me, but it could work, depending on the context. There are two issues, I think:

1. The construction of the sentence implies that you went to Seoul three times, and then you returned home; perhaps the trips to Seoul originated from somewhere else, not your home city. If that's what you mean, we need more context to establish that.

2. In English, "I went" usually implies "and returned." This is not true in many languages (e.g., Japanese). This is not natural in English:

Q: Where did you go last week?

A: I went to Seoul and returned home.

It sounds odd, because you're stating something that is automatically implied. However, this would be natural, albeit slightly formal:

A: I went to Seoul and returned home late Friday night.

(In casual speech we'd say "got back late Friday night.")

Answer 2

I have been to ... is the correct way to say I have visited ... and I mean to talk about the time that I spent there and the thing I experienced.

I have gone to ... is incorrect both grammar wise and meaning wise. Moreover, I have never seen anyone using this expression.