I was gone / I has gone

[lucagalbu]

Hi! What is the difference between "I was gone" and "I had gone"? ("I was gone" sounds me (or sounds to me??) better)

[Koir]

My first instinct is to say that "I was gone" isn't really a proper phrase. "I went" is more grammatically correct and holds essentially the same meaning.

Since the first phrase is incorrect English grammar, "I had gone" is the preferable phrase to use depending on sentence context.

[Aniki]

Isn't the phrase "I was gone" the correct one?

I am gone (Present tense), I was gone (Past tense), I will be gone (Future tense).

[Nyororin]

I think a key point here would be what you are trying to say.

"I was gone" and "I had gone" are both correct - they just have different meanings. One will be correct for one situation, one for another. I wouldn`t use them interchangeably.

[Koir]

Originally Posted by Nyororin

I think a key point here would be what you are trying to say.

"I was gone" and "I had gone" are both correct - they just have different meanings. One will be correct for one situation, one for another. I wouldn`t use them interchangeably.

Guh. That's what I was trying to clumsily explain. Without context, they're difficult to analyze.

[lucagalbu]

Originally Posted by Koir

Guh. That's what I was trying to clumsily explain. Without context, they're difficult to analyze.

I had gone is past perfect
I have gone is present perfect
but "I was gone" what tense is it?

[berrypie]

"Gone" is the past participle of the verb "go", it is also an adjective.

The adjective "gone" has a couple of meanings. I can't list all of them here, so it will be great if you can look up from the dictionary yourself. Some of the meanings are: dead, pregnant, ended, past, missing, used up... etc

So, does "I am gone" sound grammatically correct to you now? If "gone" is an adjective, "be gone" is surely correct.

[lucagalbu]

Originally Posted by berrypie

"Gone" is the past participle of the verb "go", it is also an adjective.

The adjective "gone" has a couple of meanings. I can't list all of them here, so it will be great if you can look up from the dictionary yourself. Some of the meanings are: dead, pregnant, ended, past, missing, used up... etc

So, does "I am gone" sound grammatically correct to you now? If "gone" is an adjective, "be gone" is surely correct.

So I can't say "I was gone to Rome", because here gone is not an adjective, but I should say "I had gone to Rome". Is it right?

[berrypie]

Originally Posted by lucagalbu

So I can't say "I was gone to Rome", because here gone is not an adjective, but I should say "I had gone to Rome". Is it right?

If you want to express "I go to Rome", you have to use it as a verb; therefore you should say "I have gone to Rome" but not "I was gone to Rome".

Just a little bit more information for you: If you want to express the fact that you have visited Rome, you should say "I have been to Rome" instead.

EDIT: I just noticed that the title of this thread is "I was gone/I has gone". "I has gone" is incorrect; it should be "I have gone". "Has" is used for third person singular (he has / she has/ it has).

[Blitzwing85]

Originally Posted by lucagalbu

So I can't say "I was gone to Rome", because here gone is not an adjective, but I should say "I had gone to Rome". Is it right?

Yeah there are many ways in which you could refer to it depending on the context.

When speaking about something you 'have' done in the past:
I went to Rome
I have been to Rome

When speaking about something you 'will' do in the future:
I am going to Rome
I will go to Rome

When speaking about something you 'were' going to do, but didn't:
I was going to go to Rome



'has' wouldn't fit in anywhere unless you were referring to somebody other than yourself.
She has been to Rome (for example).


I don't think 'gone' would be used either. It would be changed to been, went, going etc.
But you could also use 'gone' when referring to another person again. Maybe speaking about someone who has went to Rome and you have not.
'She has gone to Rome'
This would mean they are still in Rome.

English can be quite complicated when it comes to these subtle changes.