A Composer Named Scarlatti

Instant Quiz

Can you correct the error in the sentence below? Scroll to the bottom of today’s post for the answer.     

With much effort, we drug the bureau into the garage.

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If you enjoy classical music, you’ve probably heard of Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757). He’s most famous for his harpsichord music.

Here’s a snippet of information that was just posted on our TV’s classical music station:

Scarlatti married his wife, Maria Caterina Gentili, at the age of 43.

It’s a sentence that needs improvement!

The first problem is this unnecessary sentence: Scarlatti married his wife….

If you were a man in the 1700s, who – pray – would you marry besides a wife? And there’s another problem: who was 43? The sentence has an indefinite pronoun reference…meaning (in plain English) that either Domenico or Maria could have been 43.

With a little effort, you can come up with a better sentence:

Scarlatti married Maria Caterina Gentili when he was 43.  BETTER

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Instant Quiz ANSWER

In standard English, a drug is a pharmaceutical substance. The word you need here is dragged.

With much effort, we dragged the bureau into the garage. CORRECT

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