"To Africa" vs "in Africa"

Question

I'd like to ask is the question "Have you ever been to Africa?" correct? I mean shouldn't we ask "Have you ever been in Africa" instead?

Answer 1

Simple way to remember!

Pussy Cat, Pussy Cat, where have you been?
I have been to London to look at the Queen

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Have been is generally used to ask whether that person has visited and come back. And if this is the case, we use to.

Have you ever been to Africa?

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On the other hand, I also find have been in [somewhere] but then I think it states that you stayed there and not merely visited.

A famous quote by Billy Boyd reads -

After I've been in America for a while, I get homesick for Scotland.

Answer 2

Consider these sentences:

Luke worked in Africa last year.
Luke was in Africa last year.
Luke went to Arica last year; he now lives there permanently.
Luke went to Africa last year for three weeks.

Now let's we change our way of looking at these events, and talk about them as parts of Luke's life experiences.

1. Luke has worked in Africa.
2. Luke has been in Africa.
3. Luke has gone to Africa.
4. Luke has been to Africa.

(3) tells us that Luke went to Africa at some time in the past and is still there. The idiomatic use of HAVE + been to tell us that Luke went to Africa at some time(s) in the past and came back. HAVE + been to means approximately the same as VISIT.

That beng so, sentences (1) to (4) are natural, though (2) is less likely to be said - we are normally more interested in the event of the visit rather than the state of being. (However, Luke has been in Africa for six months, which tells us that he is still there, is fine.)

So, Have you ever been in Africa? is far less likely to be asked (though it is not incorrect) than Have you ever been to Africa?

Answer 3

I agree with user3169's comment that from your first question it is obvious that you are out of Africa. So 'to' should be used.

'To' in one of its meanings means 'somewhere else'
'In' in one of its meaning means 'here'

Suppose you are asking somebody about a hotel then you might ask

1. Have you ever been to that hotel ?

But if you run into someone in the same hotel then you can not use 'to' but you should use 'in'.

2. Have you been in this hotel before ?
   (In this situation you can't use 'to', because at the time of asking this question you are inside the hotel and 'to' means somewhere else)

It may be grammatically correct to use 'to' in the above question but it is not logical.

If I am an African citizen living in Africa then i would ask

1. Have you been in Africa before ?

(In this situation 'Have you been to Africa ?' doesn't naturally come to my mind.)

Answer 4

Normally where-indications are made with "in": in London, in Africa. But there is a special niche in English where "to" is used instead of "in". Especially in questions with "Have you (ever) been + place/country". One has to learn this special use of "to" instead of "in" as a kind of idiomatic use. I think this dates back to old language where "to" could mean "in" as well.

My guess is based on German. On old engravings you can find the legend "Der Markt zu München" (The market to Munich). Today nobody would speak that way, one would say "Der Markt in München" (The market in Munich).

I think there are a few other expressions where "to" is used instead of "in", e.g. "a visit to London".

Answer 5

I guess, have been to is short for have been going to, which is grammatically incorrect tense, or just a mix-up of been in and went to It's informal and widely used.