- Is this your first time in London or have you been to London before?
vs
- Is this your first time in London or were you in London before?
situation: a local is taking a tourist for a city tour. What should he ask him?
Learn English – Have you been to London before / were you in London before
past-simplepresent-perfect
Related Topic
- Learn English – “Where have you been” vs “Where have you gone”
- Learn English – What were you doing/have you been doing [does one have a negative connotation?]
- Learn English – How long have you played/how long have you been playing
- Learn English – “Have you known” or “Did you know”
- Learn English – “I never saw it before” vs. “I have never seen it before”
Best Answer
**Watch how this typically works:
FIRST Scenario
Person One: Have you been to London before? [You are still there, and no one cares when you got there.] Person Two: Yes, I've been here before.
Person One: Really? When did you come to London before?
Person Two: I came to London last year.
Notice the switch from present perfect to simple past above. That is a very usual pattern of speech.
SECOND Scenario
Person One: Were you in London before? [before this time]. You seem to know your way around.
Person Two: Yes, I was here before. I was here last summer.
Either one is fine. In the second one, Person One is asking about a specific time when Person Two might have been in London. In the first, the question is more open ended. Note that in the Second Scenario, the question could also be asked to Person Two when she or he is no longer in London.