1) What is the difference between: A "I have been in England." and B "I was in England." --Use sentence A if you want to also tell us how many times you visited, i.e. "... twice" Use sentence B if you want to continue with a story or follow up with more descriptions about your visit, such as "...when I met my good friend Sally." Without more context it is not clear which is a better option. 2) A "I have been in America." ("I have been in California.") or B "I have been to America." ("I have been to California.") --Either phrase works, probably B is used more often. If you are still currently in America, follow sentence A with the length of time, i.e. "for three weeks already." With B you can say how long ago i.e. "... 3 months ago." 3) A "I lost consciousness." and B "I was lost consciousness." -- First choice, A, is correct. "To be lost", seen in B, can't be used with "conciousness," but can use a prepositional phrase to specify where someone is lost, i.e. "in the city" or "in deep thought", but this phrase won't allow a direct object, "consciousness," because the verb "To be" doesn't take a direct object by itself, however, the verb "to lose" can take a direct object. 4) "In the subconsciousness." and "Into the subconsciousness." --2nd choice describes movement, whereas first choice doesn't necessarily describe movement. 5) "How about playing basketball after school?" or "What about playing basketball after school?" --Either expression is acceptable with the rest of the phrase "playing basketball after school." Hope this helps! Anthony