I'm wondering what is the difference between the sentences bellow.
- Where has he gone?
- Where did he go?
The first one means that the subject of the sentence hasn't come back yet, doesn't it? And that is the only one difference?
I would like to consider next examples in order to understand it better.
Sentences where taken from translating exercise.
- Where did you go? – I went to the library. I'd lost my book there, so I went for it.
- Where has he gone? – I think he has gone to the library. He usually goes there on Fridays.
In the first case we used Past Simple in question because the second part is used in the Past Tense. We have two past action. One occured before another one (the second is the result of the first one).
As for the second case, we have action which was performed before. Someone we are talking about hasn't returned, so we use Present Perfect. Are my remarks correct?
Best Answer
The present perfect involves the present in some way. The present perfect suggests here that the question is about where he is at that moment.
Context may admit the same meaning with simple past, but the present perfect explicitly establishes it and doesn't leave it tacit.