The jury _______ divided in their opinions.

Answer: The correct word is were.

Explanation: The noun "jury" is being viewed as a collection of individual members, so a plural verb is appropriate. The sentence also uses the plural pronoun "their" and the plural noun "opinions," which requires a plural verb form to agree with them.

• were — correct: agrees with the plural sense of "jury" here and matches "their opinions."

• is / was — incorrect in this sentence: these are singular verbs and would require a singular pronoun and noun (for example, "The jury was divided in its opinion").

• has — incorrect: this creates a present perfect active construction ("has divided") and changes the meaning; the intended state is expressed with the linking verb construction "were divided," which also agrees with "their opinions."

Note: In American English collective nouns like "jury" are often treated as singular (so "the jury was divided in its opinion" is common), but because this sentence uses the plural phrase "their opinions," the plural verb "were" is the correct choice here.