Can a morphologically singular noun sometimes take a plural verb if semantics permits so?

Question

I have had this rather mind-boggling question: Do the following sentences require a singular or plural verb?

The blue and the red dice are/is rolled on the floor.
Geraldine's and Gerald's car are bought from California.
The personality of the business and the owner are/is separate.

Semantically, the ideas the sentences are describing indicate plurality: (1) There are two di rolled onto the floor-one is red and the other is blue; (2) Geraldine has a car, and so does Gerald; (3) in Accounting, the personality of the business is different from that of the owner.

David Bartley · Answer

1-The word "dice" is plural.  The singular is "die."
2-The subject of the sentence is "car," so the verb would be singular.
3-Since you are saying the business and owner have separate personalities, you would start the sentence with the plural noun. And you might consider whether "distinct" would be preferred to "separate."

Can a morphologically singular noun sometimes take a plural verb if semantics permits so?

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