have you been/were you

English as a Second Language English Vocabulary, Grammar and Idioms
1

She arrived at home a moment ago. Her mother asked her when she saw her:
Where have you been?
why not:
where were you?-because now, she is at home.

thanks :wink:

2

Either works.

3

Hi Saneta,

Note: she arrived home - no need for ‘at’.

4

hi,thank you,
but, Where have you been? (the Present Perfect tense) has the connection with now since some distant or shorter time in the past, and now she is at home and no there where she was in the past, so I think the better is to say: where were you?

what do you think?

many,many thanks…

5

‘Where have you been?’ is by far the more common expression, Saneta.

It asks for the person’s whereabouts ‘before this point and up until now’.

6

thanks Bees.!