I would like to know do "has / have gone" and "is / are gone" have different meaning? Should I use "has / have gone" with "to" (e.g. "Where has she gone?" or "Where has she gone to?"). If so, what are the context they might be more likely used in? Please, give me examples.
asked Apr 28, 2017 at 15:17
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1 Answer
The two examples you give use the word "gone" in different ways that do have slightly different meanings.
X has/have gone
Here, gone is the past participle of the verb go. It is the usual use of have to form a perfect tense with the verb go. You can therefore use it to say where something has "gone". In this case, the verbs "moved" or "travelled" are often fairly synonymous with "gone". E.g.
She has gone to the shops - She has travelled to the shops
X is/are gone
Here, gone is an adjective that means "no longer present". You would therefore use it to describe something as not being here, but you can't use it to describe where something is currently, or is currently going.
Therefore, "she has gone" and "she is gone" do have essentially the same meaning, but with slightly different emphasis. The former places more emphasis on the movement (the "going"), while the latter places more emphasis on the subject not being here. If I were to reword them, it would be to "She has moved elsewhere" and "she is not here (but she was here before)".
