Neither of the paintings . . . . . . . . sold.

Plzz explan this rules.

The correct option is "was." The phrase "Neither of the paintings was sold" means that none of the paintings were successfully sold or purchased. "Was" is the past tense of the verb "to be," and it is used here to indicate that the action of selling the paintings happened in the past.

"Have been" is the present perfect tense of the verb "to be," which is used to describe an action that began in the past and continues to the present. "Were" is the past tense of the verb "to be" and is used to describe actions that happened in the past. "Are" is the present tense of the verb "to be" and is used to describe actions that are happening currently. None of these tenses fit the context of the sentence.

here are five more examples using the same structure:

"Neither of the books was read." (Neither of the books were read in the past.)
"Neither of the plants was watered." (Neither of the plants were watered in the past.)
"Neither of the cars was purchased." (Neither of the cars were purchased in the past.)
"Neither of the cakes was eaten." (Neither of the cakes were eaten in the past.)
"Neither of the m