Last week on CarTalk on NPR they asked the following puzzler: Can you think of a situation where the components of a compound subject are connected by “and,” yet the form of the verb must be singular, and not plural? One brother said:
When the subject is talking about the same person. My college roommate and best friend is coming to town.
The other brother said that this was not a compound subject because the subject was the same person.
Which brother is correct?
Bill and jean cook cakes. Bill and Jean…that’d be the compound subject.
I have to think in terms of diagraming it - in which case when diagramimg both are equal.
bill and jean|cook|cakes
Car guy example could be…where roomate and friend are the subject…“my”, College" would have to be under “roomate”…and “best” would be diagramed under friend.
My example and theirs are examples of compound subjects.
http://www.tiscali.co.uk/reference/dictionaries/english/data/d0081795.html
That is one of the few sites that specifically refer to the type of example the car guys gave.
This is hard to answer unless you know the intended definition of “compound subject” and “compound subject with components separated by ‘and’.” Opinions on that will differ. If you use the very strict definition of
<noun phrase> and <noun phrase> (and <noun phrase>…)
You will have a very hard time because you are violating the congruence of subject and noun practically by definition.
Although I am not a native speaker (but a linguistics student) I doubt that you’ll find a better example than yours without bending the rules or taking advantage of some obscure irregularity.
What about “Trinidad and Tobago?” Couldn’t that be a compound subject where the verb would be singular?
When the subject is a complete unit, it can happen, such as “Bangers and mash is a good meal.”