Let’s take a rule a day

English for Today by Ganiu Abisoye Bamgbose (Dr GAB)

Let’s take a rule a day!

My friend and confidant are here (nonstandard).
My friend and confidant is here (standard).

NOTE: When two nouns refer to the same person, the verb should be singular. In the sentence above, the friend is the same as the confidant. However, when any word precedes the second noun, the two nouns will refer to different persons and the verb will be plural:
My friend and my confidant are here (standard).
GAB