Fill in the blank with the most appropriate option:
Last Sunday, neither my cousins nor their mother ______ ready when the taxi arrived.
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 3
The correct answer is Option (3) → was
Subject-verb agreement with “neither ... nor”:
- With “neither ... nor”, the verb agrees with the subject nearer to it.
- The nearer subject is “their mother”, not “my cousins”. It is singular. “Last Sunday” shows the past. So the verb is was.
- Complete sentence: Last Sunday, neither my cousins nor their mother was ready when the taxi arrived.
Why the Other Options are Incorrect?
Option 1: were — Incorrect. “Were” is plural, but the nearer subject “their mother” is singular. Example: Neither the manager nor the clerks were in the office yesterday.
Option 2: is — Incorrect. “Is” is singular, but it shows the present. The sentence is about the past (“last Sunday”). Example: My aunt is ready to leave now.
Option 4: are — Incorrect. “Are” is plural, but the nearer subject is singular. Example: The boys are on the terrace.