<p>I am confused by a question on Barron's Writing Workbook.</p>
<p>To the disappointment of the crowd, </p>
<p>neither the president nor any of his aides were able to attend the ceremony.</p>
<p>A: To, B: neither, C: any, D: were, E: No error.</p>
<p>The answer is D. And it explains that the subject is neither, so you should use singular form.
But is it true that the verb is determined by the noun closer to the verb which is any?
Thank you very much!</p>