been
v.v. the past form of the verb 'be'. You use it to talk about places you visited or things you have done in the past.
v. the past participle of the copular verb 'be'. Used in the formation of perfect tenses and the passive voice.
I have been to London twice.
The manager has been in meetings all morning and is currently unavailable to take your call.
Having been a dedicated member of the faculty for over thirty years, the professor was naturally the first choice for the honorary position of Dean Emeritus.
Etymology tree Proto-Indo-European *ḱe Proto-Indo-European *ḱóm Proto-Germanic *ga- Proto-West Germanic *ga- Old English ġe- Proto-Indo-European *bʰuH- Proto-Indo-European *-yéti Proto-Indo-European *bʰuHyétider.? Proto-Germanic *beuną Proto-West Germanic *beun Old English bēon Old English ġebēon Middle English been English been From Middle English been (past participle), from Old English (ġe)bēon. By surface analysis, be + -en.
Either from Middle English been (“to be”, infinitive) (from Old English bēon, equivalent to be + -en (infinitive ending)), or from a dialectal use of the preceding past tense form as an infinitive form (compare dialectal use of (I)'s, (I) is in the first person, (he) am in the third person, etc).
From Middle English been (plural indicative form); equivalent to be + -en (plural present ending).
From Middle English been, bene, ben, beon, from Old English bēon (“bees”), equivalent to bee + -en (plural ending).
Used as an auxiliary verb in perfect tenses (have been) and continuous forms (have been working).
I have being thereI have been thereLearners often confuse the past participle 'been' with the present participle 'being' in perfect tenses.