John said he had never … insulted in his life

Analyze the question

The sentence is: "John said he had never ......... insulted in his life."

It uses the past perfect tense ("had never ..."), and the blank must complete a passive construction ("insulted"). So we need a past participle of "be" (been) followed by the intensifier "so."

Explain the concept

• Past perfect = had + past participle. The past participle of "be" is been.
• Passive voice = be + past participle. So the full structure is: had never been (so) insulted.
• The adverb so modifies "insulted," so it comes right before it: been so insulted.
• "Being" cannot follow "had," because "had being" is ungrammatical.

Step-by-step solution

1. "had never" requires a past participle next, which eliminates C (being so) and D (so being).
2. Between A and B, check word order: • A: "had never so been insulted" is awkward and unnatural, because "so" should sit directly before the word it modifies ("insulted"). • B: "had never been so insulted" is correct and natural.

Answer: B. been so

Full sentence: John said he had never been so insulted in his life.

Tip: After "had," always look for a past participle (been, gone, done). Remember that "had being" is never correct. Also, place "so" immediately before the adjective or participle it intensifies (e.g., "been so happy," "been so insulted").