Question

Fill in the blank with the most appropriate word.

I've never _____ to Australia, but I'd like to go.

• A. Was
• B. Is
• C. Been
• D. Being

Answer 1

Answer: (C)

Been

The second clause of the sentence says, “I’d like to go,” implying that the action of “not going” has happened till the present. So, the first clause of the sentence would state this fact and action of “not going to Australia” as yet. So, the action in the first clause is complete in the sense that this action of “not going” can now only be converted into a new action of “going.” Hence, the first clause of the sentence is in present perfect tense. The present perfect is made using the auxiliary verb 'have/ has' plus the 'past participle' of the main verb. Hence, Option C is the correct answer as it uses past participle of the verb “be,” i.e. “been” as required by the present perfect tense of the sentence. The helping verb ‘have is already contained in the first clause as the its short form ‘ve’ with ‘I.’
Option D would not be used as it is not the past participle of ‘be’. Options A and B cannot be used as they would render the sentence meaningless and grammatically incorrect.