Normally, you would use "are" after two nouns. For example "exercising and eating well are healthy activities," or "working hard and saving money are important habits." So you are correct in your understanding of when to use "is" or "are." "Breaking and entering," though is a sort of exception, because "Breaking and entering" is considered a crime, singular. The more technically correct way of saying this would be, "The act of breaking and entering IS against the law." That's what we actually mean when we refer to "breaking and entering." I'm not a lawyer, but oddly, from what I understand of watching a lot of Law & Order, "breaking" a lock is potentially a crime (vandalism), and "entering" without permission would be another (trespassing), but "breaking and entering" is a specific crime in and of itself within the US criminal code. Because it is considered ONE crime, is is a singular act that *is* against the law. As you probably already know, the rule of is/are is different if the conjunction is "or." In that case, the verb "to be" must refer to the noun that's closer to it. So, "Either hot dogs OR pizza is being served" is the correct way to say it. And "Either pizza or hot dogs ARE being served" is equally correct. But if both are being served, then you say "Both hot dogs AND pizza ARE being served."

"Monday mornings, with all of the rush hour traffic and unanswered emails, are the most hectic part of the week." "Hectic" is a more extreme form of "busy," but it also carries a sort of negative quality, as if this level of business is disorderly, or slightly (but not fully) chaotic, or otherwise not wanted. Imagine this: "This restaurant is very busy on Saturday nights!" Let's replace "very busy" with two examples: "This restaurant is very lively on Saturday nights!" Or, "This restaurant is hectic on Saturday nights!" Both essentially describe the same thing. But the first sounds like this is an upbeat, happening place ("happening" is American slang for something socially exciting or, well, lively), while the second sounds like it's coming from someone who would like someplace quieter. Or maybe the restaurant is so busy that they're losing control of the place. Either way "hectic" has a sort of undesirable connotation, while "lively" has the opposite, even though both mean "very busy." Hope this helps!

The phrase refers to the idea that both reptiles (in a literal sense) and humans (in a figurative sense) can be snakes. A person that is described as a "snake" would be one dishonest, devious, or treacherous. The use of "alike" here fits a certain pattern. Examples: "The snow was so heavy that it forced the closures of businesses and school alike." "Pizza at a birthday party would be popular with boys and girls alike." "English can be tricky at times for both new learners and native speakers alike." See the pattern? It's a more elegant way of saying, "Both boys and girls like pizza," or "Both schools and businesses closed because of the snow." Anyway, maybe this isn't the best explanation but hopefully it helps!

You're correct in everything you've said. The original text from The Family Guy is vague, and grammatically incorrect because of the imprecise wording. But people often do not speak nor write correctly in any language. You should know, though, that you are right in your understanding of how modifiers are correctly arranged.

The first one is more grammatically correct, but you will hear both in spoken language, especially colloquially. What you really need in this scenario (someone correct me if they have the actual terminology down because i might be wrong) is an imperfect tense, but English doesn't quite have an imperfect tense (or a subjunctive), so you will see both forms in colloquial English.

It can mean both! It would totally depend on the context thats been presented in the show.

English is very difficult to learn because there is no consistency in its sounds, grammar, and pronunciation. Even the same word has different meanings depending on its pronunciation, and can have different pronunciations depending on its meaning! An exaple would be the word "lead." It sounds like "leed" (and rhymes with "bead") if used as a verb, but sounds like "head" if it describes the metal. And why "lead," as in the metal, rhymes with "head," "bed," and "led" but "lead" (the verb) rhymes with "reed," "weed," and "bead" is crazy and takes a while to learn even for native speakers.

I lnow you're a Portuguese speaker, but if you understand Spanish at all, check out "Superholly" on YouTube and Instagram. She is bilingual and fluent in both English and Chicano Spanish, and has no trace of an accent in either (she is a native speaker of both). She has a video, in Spanish, that describes something like "11 mistakes Spanish speakers make when speaking english" that touches on pronunciation it might be helpful!