Asking this other question has reminded me of another confusion I often have, one of my long standing bad habits that you'd think I'd have sorted after all this time in Japan.
I'm never quite sure how to end a list of two or more things. So, I want to say "I like apples and oranges."
Saying it this way seems weird, because of having と and が together. It just feels weird in my mouth.
りんごとオレンジとが好{す}きだ。
This next option also feels weird, though, because it's like saying, "apples and oranges and like".
りんごとオレンジと好{す}きだ。
Which is right? Or are both wrong?
Does it make a difference if there's more than two items?
りんごとオレンジとパパイヤと(が)好{す}きだ。
Answer
The most usual way is to attach と to all alternatives except for the last one:
りんごとオレンジが好きだ。
りんごとオレンジとパパイヤが好きだ。
(Unrelated note: “papaya” is usually パパイヤ rather than パパヤ in Japanese.)
Attaching と to all alternatives including the last one is acceptable.
りんごとオレンジとが好きだ。
りんごとオレンジとパパイヤとが好きだ。
I heard that in older days, と was always attached to all alternatives, but I do not have anything to back up this claim.
The following are ungrammatical.
りんごとオレンジと好きだ。
りんごとオレンジとパパイヤと好きだ。
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