Verb forms · CEFR B1
“Have went” or “have gone”? Past participles explained
Incorrect
I have went
Correct
I have gone
Use the past participle after have: “I have gone”, “She has eaten”. “Have went” uses the past simple form by mistake.
The rule
Present perfect = have / has + past participle.
For regular verbs the past simple and participle are the same (worked / worked). For irregular verbs they are often different: go - went - gone, eat - ate - eaten, see - saw - seen, do - did - done, take - took - taken, write - wrote - written.
Examples
✗ I have went to London twice.
✓ I have been to London twice.
been = visited and returned
✗ She has ate already.
✓ She has eaten already.
✗ Have you saw this film?
✓ Have you seen this film?
Why learners make this mistake
Irregular verbs have to be memorised, and the second form (went, ate, saw) is usually learnt first, so learners use it everywhere.
Remember
HAVE + third column: have gone, have seen, have done.
Frequently asked questions
- What is the difference between “have gone” and “have been”?
- “She has gone to Paris” means she is there now. “She has been to Paris” means she visited and came back.
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