[255]. 1. Agreement in Number. With two or more subjects the verb is regularly plural; as,—
pater et fīlius mortuī sunt, the father and son died.
2. But sometimes the verb agrees with the nearest subject; viz.,—
a) When the verb precedes both subjects or stands between them; as,—
mortuus est pater et fīlius;
pater mortuus est et fīlius.
b) When the subjects are connected by aut; aut ... aut; vel ... vel; neque ... neque; as,—
neque pater neque fīlius mortuus est, neither father nor son died.
3. When the different subjects are felt together as constituting a whole, the singular is used; as,—
temeritās ignōrātiōque vitiōsa est, rashness and ignorance are bad.
a. This is regularly the case in senātus populusque Rōmānus.