Past exam of the mathematics course of the University of Cambridge / 2002 / ib / Paper 3 / 7F / b

False. Distinct vector subspaces may be nested: in $V={\mathbb{R}}^2$, take $U=\{0\}$ and $W=\mathrm{span}(1,0)$. Their union is $W$, a subspace. More precisely, $U\cup W$ is a subspace exactly when one is contained in the other. If neither contains the other, choose $u\in U\setminus W$ and $w\in W\setminus U$. Were $u+w$ in the union, subtracting $u$ or $w$ in the appropriate subspace would contradict those choices.