subjects of conjoined VPs

[Georgia]

For me these still aren't examples of what Dick is looking for.

> Ash and Georgia didn't like my first examples. Try again.
> (4) There were four things the children could do. Five children hopped and
> three jumped but only one skipped or sat still.  [Notice: or, not and;
> maybe that helps.]

This adds up to at most 9 kids, one of which either skipped or sat still;
there cannot be one skipper and one sitter.

> (5) The students were all there. They were all either standing in the
> corridor or sitting in the common room.

If they were all either standing or sitting, then each one was either
standing or sitting. (Not very informative, to be sure, but still completely
true.)

> [or again]
> (6) This is a busy bus station. One bus arrives and departs every minute.

Apparently it is a busy station because there's this bus that zips in and
out every minute. Or a bunch of buses that do that. If I meant that there is
a bus departure and a bus arrival every minute, I'm pretty sure I wouldn't
say it this way.

> (7) John works with Bill. Their respective wives stay at home and work in
a
> bank.

Don't "respective(ly)" sentences always work this way? (Force a distributed
reading, I mean.) Does this help your cause?

Georgia