Question

Neither of the paintings __________ sold.
A have been
B were
C are
D was​

Answer 1

Neither of the paintings was sold. (We have used singular verb)

Why did we use a singular verb?

• The subject in the given sentence is 'neither of the paintings,' so the narrator is talking about every single painting.
• Moreover, the words; neither, either, or, nor, each, every, etc. always take a singular verb.
• These only take plural verbs when there is a group of subjects such as; Neither Ali nor Anil are smart enough.'

Thus, option D is correct - Was