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Here is a detailed explanation to this question-
chunjuwu wrote:
In 1713, Alexander Pope began his translation of the Illiad, a work that, taking him seven years until completion, and that literary critic Samuel Johnson, Pope’s contemporary, pronounced the greatest translation in any language.
A. his translation of the Illiad, a work that, taking him seven years until completion, and that literary critic Samuel Johnson, Pope’s contemporary, pronounced
B. his translation of the Illiad, a work that took him seven years to complete and that literary critic Samuel Johnson, Pope’s contemporary, pronounced
C. his translation of the Illiad, a work that had taken seven years to complete and that literary critic Samuel Johnson, Pope’s contemporary, pronounced it is
D. translating the Illiad, a work that took seven years until completion and that literary critic Samuel Johnson, Pope’s contemporary, pronounced it as
E. translating the Illiad, a work that had taken seven years to complete and literary critic Samuel Johnson, Pope’s contemporary, pronounced it
Meaning is crucial to solving this problem:
Understanding the intended meaning is key to solving this question; the intended core meaning of this sentence is that Alexander Pope began his translation of the Illiad in 1713, and this translation took him seven years to complete and was pronounced the greatest translation in any language by Samuel Johnson.
Concepts tested here: Meaning + Tenses + Parallelism + Verb Forms• In a “phrase + comma + noun” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun; this is one of the most frequently tested concepts on GMAT sentence correction.
• The simple past tense is used to refer to events that concluded in the past.
• Past perfect tense (marked by the use of helping verb "had") is used when a sentence contains two actions in the past; the helping verb "had" is used with the action in the "greater past".
• Present participles ("verb+ing" – “exhibiting” in this sentence) are used to modify nouns, refer to ongoing events in any time period, and (when preceded by a comma) express cause-effect relationships.
• The infinitive verb form ("to + base form of verb" – “to + take” in this sentence) is the preferred construction for referring to the purpose/intent of an action.
• Any elements linked by a conjunction (“and” in this sentence) must be parallel.
A: This answer choice incorrectly uses the present participle ("verb+ing" - "taking" in this sentence) to refer to an action that concluded in the past; please remember, the simple past tense is used to refer to events that concluded in the past, and present participles ("verb+ing" – “exhibiting” in this sentence) are used to modify nouns, refer to ongoing events in any time period, and (when preceded by a comma) express cause-effect relationships. Further, Option A uses the phrase "until completion" to refer to the purpose of the action "taking"; please remember, the infinitive verb form ("to + base form of verb") is the preferred construction for referring to the purpose/intent of an action.
B: Correct. This answer choice correctly modifies "his translation of the Illiad" with "a work that took him seven years to complete" and uses "pronounced", conveying the intended meaning - that Alexander Pope's translation of the Illiad took seven years to complete was pronounced the greatest translation in any language by Samuel Johnson. Further, Option B correctly uses the simple past tense verb "took" to refer to the later of two actions - Pope beginning his translation and the translation taking seven years to complete. Additionally, Option B maintains parallelism between "that took him seven years to complete" and "that literary critic...language". Besides, Option B uses the infinitive verb form ("to + base form of verb" - "to + complete" in this sentence) to refer to the purpose of the action "took".
C: This answer choice alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "pronounced it is"; the construction of this phrase leads to an incoherent meaning; the intended meaning of this part of the sentence is that Alexander Pope's translation of the Illiad was pronounced the greatest translation in any language by Samuel Johnson. Further, Option C incorrectly uses the past perfect tense verb "had taken" to refer to the later of two actions - Pope beginning his translation and the translation taking seven years to complete; please remember, past perfect tense (marked by the use of helping verb "had") is used when a sentence contains two actions in the past; the helping verb "had" is used with the action in the "greater past".
D: This answer choice incorrectly modifies "the Illiad" with "a work that took seven years until completion", incorrectly implying that
the Illiad took Alexander Pope seven years to complete; the intended meaning is that
Pope's translation of the Illiad took seven years to complete; please remember, in a “noun + comma + phrase” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun. Moreover, Option D further alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "pronounced it is"; the construction of this phrase leads to an incoherent meaning; the intended meaning is that Alexander Pope's translation of the Illiad was pronounced the greatest translation in any language by Samuel Johnson. Additionally, Option E uses the phrase "until completion" to refer to the purpose of the action "took"; please remember, the infinitive verb form ("to + base form of verb") is the preferred construction for referring to the purpose/intent of an action.
E: This answer choice incorrectly modifies "the Illiad" with "a work that had taken seven years to complete", incorrectly implying that
the Illiad took Alexander Pope seven years to complete; the intended meaning is that
Pope's translation of the Illiad took seven years to complete; please remember, in a“noun + comma + phrase” construction, the phrase must correctly modify the noun. Moreover, Option E further alters the meaning of the sentence through the phrase "pronounced it"; the construction of this phrase leads to an incoherent meaning; the intended meaning is that Alexander Pope's translation of the Illiad was pronounced the greatest translation in any language by Samuel Johnson. Further, Option E incorrectly uses the past perfect tense verb "had taken" to refer to the later of two actions - Pope beginning his translation and the translation taking sever years to complete; please remember, past perfect tense (marked by the use of helping verb "had") is used when a sentence contains two actions in the past; the helping verb "had" is used with the action in the "greater past". Additionally, Option E fails to maintain parallelism between "that had taken seven years to complete" and "literary critic Samuel Johnson...pronounced it...language"; please remember, any elements linked by a conjunction ("and" in this sentence) must be parallel.
Hence, B is the best answer choice.To understand the concept of "Phrase Comma Subject" and "Subject Comma Phrase" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~1minute):
To understand the concept of "Past Perfect Tense" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):
To understand the concept of using "Infinitive Verb Forms" and "Present Participles" on GMAT, you may want to watch the following video (~2 minutes):
All the best!
Experts' Global Team
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Updated on: 14 Sep 2018, 05:41
25%
(medium)
28%
(01:50)
wrong 
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