Have been to / Have gone to

[Yitan]

Hello!

I don´t understand very well this test question:

"No, I _______ to the U.S.A.
a) Have never been
b) Have never gone
c) Never have been
d) Never have gone

I answered the B option, the correct one is the A. I´m Spanish speaker and I don´t understand very well why you can´t say I have never gone to U.S.A any explanation?

Thank you very much :)

[SoothingDave]

"Never been" is the best answer, but "never gone" is also possible. It's a poor question.

[Yitan]

"Never been" is the best answer, but "never gone" is also possible. It's a poor question.

Thank you, what do you mean with poor question?

[SoothingDave]

The question is designed poorly. There are two possible, grammatically correct answers.

[Chicken Sandwich]

**** NOT A TEACHER *****

It's a poor question in that there is more than one possible answer. That said, I would also go for 'have never been'.

[SoothingDave]

**** NOT A TEACHER *****

It's a poor question in that there is more than one possible answer. That said, I would also go for 'have never been'.

Yes, it's the best answer. We usually talk about having "been" somewhere, rather than having "gone" there. But not all the time.

[Yitan]

Okay, thank you. Then is there any difference in the context when you say I´ve never been or I´ve never gone?

:)

[Odessa Dawn]

Thank you, Dave and Chicken Sandwich, for clarification. Yes, I got confused when I read "It is a poor question" since in here it means wrong question. In other words, "What did you think?" Again thank you.

[Chicken Sandwich]

In other words, "What did you think?" Again thank you.

poor - Definition from Longman English Dictionary Online

Definition #2.