In 1713, Alexander Pope began his translation of the Illiad, a work th

I can think of plenty of official GMAT questions that are harder, but this one seems to generate a disproportionate amount of pain. Most of you have probably heard me preach about this sort of thing before, but if you’re able to be really really strict and literal with the meaning of the sentence, this question is much, much easier.

Let’s start by lining (A) and (B) up side-by-side, because that will make it easier to see the problem with one of them.


Notice the nice parallelism in (B): “a work that took him seven years to complete and that literary critic Samuel Johnson… pronounced….” No problem: we have two nice, parallel phrases that describe the word “work.”

In (A), that first modifier makes less sense: “…a work that, taking him seven years until completion…” Huh? Why not just say “a work that took him seven years to complete”? There’s no good reason to stick “taking him seven years…” into a separate little modifying phrase, wedged between more commas. Plus, you could also argue that “seven years to complete” is a more elegant phrase than “seven years until completion.”

Clearly, (B) is better than (A), so let’s hang onto (B), and ditch (A).



The lowest-hanging fruit here is the use of the past perfect “had taken”, which doesn’t make any sense at all.

In general, a verb in past perfect denotes an action that happens in the “distant past”, before some other past action or “time marker” in the past – in most cases, a second action that is in the simple past tense. We have one of those here: “in 1713, Alexander Pope began translating…” But if we think about the verb tenses literally, the sentence is saying that the work “had taken seven years to complete” BEFORE Pope began translating it. And that’s nonsense. (More on past perfect and other verb tenses in this webinar.)

The other problem is with the pronoun “it.” The referent is clear enough: “it” must refer to “a work.” But there’s no reason to include “it” in the middle of a phrase that modifies the word “work” to begin with: “a work that… literary critic Samuel Johnson… pronounced it as the greatest translation…”

Huh? There’s no reason for the “it” there. If you aren’t totally convinced, try completely stripping out the modifiers for a moment, and replace “it” with “the work”: “… a work that Samuel Johnson pronounced the work as the greatest translation…” Fail.

For those two reasons, we can get rid of (C).


There are two serious problems with (D). The first one is the same as in (C): the use of the word “it” makes no sense at all. See the explanation for (C) above for more on that issue.

The second problem is a little bit more subtle. The beginning of the underlined portion now uses the phrase “translating the Illiad”, instead of “his translation of the Illiad.” Neither of those things are inherently wrong by themselves, but the phrase is followed by a description: “a work that took seven years…” The sentence is trying to say that Alexander Pope took seven years to write the translation, but (D) is literally suggesting that the Illiad itself is “a work” that took Pope seven years to complete. And that’s nonsense: the Illiad itself wasn’t “a work” completed by Pope; the Illiad was written by Homer, and the translation is Pope’s actual “work.”

Finally, the phrase “a work that took seven years until completion” would be much nicer if it said “a work that took seven years to complete”, but the version in (D) isn’t WRONG, exactly. But the other two issues are a pretty big deal. (D) is out.


(E) basically just combines all of the worst errors that we saw in the other answer choices. The use of the past perfect “had taken” is wrong, for the same reasons as in (C) -- see above for a full explanation. The use of “it” is also wrong for exactly the same reasons as (C), and “translating the Illiad” is wrong for exactly the same reasons as (D).

Those three things give us more than enough reasons to eliminate (E), and (B) is the best we can do.
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Between (B) and (D), I will choose (B)

(B): In 1713, Alexander Pope began his translation of the Iliad, a work that took him seven years to complete and that literary critic Samuel Johnson, Pope’s contemporary, pronounced the greatest translation in any language.
1. "a work": correctly modifies "his translation"
2. that(work) took him seven years to complete: correct use of Simple past
3. (after restructuring..) literary critic Samuel Johnson, Pope’s contemporary, pronounced (work) the greatest translation in any language.



(A): In 1713, Alexander Pope began his translation of the Iliad, 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.

"that and that": wrong
"until completion": (of what)


(C) ....his translation of the Iliad, a work that had taken seven years to complete and that literary critic Samuel Johnson, Pope’s contemporary, pronounced it as....

"had": since Independent clause is in Simple past, and "intended job" in dependent clause is complete, we should use simple past for dependent clause.

(D): In 1713, Alexander Pope began translating the Iliad, a work that took seven years until completion and that literary critic Samuel Johnson, Pope’s contemporary, pronounced it as greatest translation in any language.

"it": seems redundant.
"until completion": not ok.


(E): same as (C)

Dear Friends,

Here is a detailed explanation to this question-

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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A,C, E --> out because of verb tenses (taking him, had taken)

It should be between B and D
"seven years to complete" vs "seven years until completion"
First one sounds better for me.

I pick B.

Can anyone explain why is "had taken" wrong in this? Isn't past perfect required here? (two events...)

My attempt to explain why C and ‘had taken’ is wrong.

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.

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 (We usually use past perfect when we have some action which occurred before a certain event in the past. Here, we have ‘began translation’ – action described in simple past – and smth that happened after that, not before that; so to use past perfect would be wrong. Also, C is wrong not only because of ‘had taken’, but also because of improper use of ‘it’ here.)

guess I am late...I narrowed it down to between B and D. Initially D seemed right because of the use of 'it' at the end referring to Illiad, but on closer investigation, the use of 'that' in the answer choices weeds out the need for 'it' at the end.

'and that literary critic Samuel Johnson, Pope’s contemporary, pronounced' clearly refers to the Illiad hence use of 'it' again at the end would be redundant and GMAT hates redundancies ...

so thats the way I would have narrowed down to B. Honestly I didn't even look at the usage of 'took him seven years to complete' and 'took seven years until completion' but yea the former is the better use of words.

For Option D, As per OG it says a work ... incorrectly refers to illiad.
but a work that took.... is a noun phrase and it can modify previous clause or any noun in the previous clause.
So why it is wrong here?

Hi Abid,

Thanks for posting your query here.

The noun "work" in this case does not refer to the original Iliad, but to Pope's translation of it. So, for the modifier to be correct, it should modify "translation", not "Iliad". It is not the Iliad that took Pope seven years to complete, but his translation of the Iliad. So, the correct answer should have the noun "translation".

I hope this helps!

Regards,
Meghna
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Error Analysis:

-In 1713, Alexander Pope began his translation of the Illiad, a work (here the correct tense began is used)
- that, taking him seven years until completion, and ("that" here correctly refers to "the work". "Taking" is not a verb since verb-ing needs to be preceded by is/are/was/were/be and thus this is a SV error)
- that literary critic Samuel Johnson, Pope’s contemporary, pronounced the greatest translation in any language. ("That" here again refers to the "the work")

Choice Analysis:

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 (SV error as explained above)
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 (Correct use of the verb "took" and "Pronounced". Both the verbs are connected correctly with "and")
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 ("Had taken" is incorrect tense. "Pronounced it is" is incorrect verb)
D. translating the Illiad, a work that took seven years until completion and that literary critic Samuel Johnson, Pope’s contemporary, pronounced it as ("work" here now refers to Illiad instead of the "Translation". Also, the use of "it" is ambiguous)
E. translating the Illiad, a work that had taken seven years to complete and literary critic Samuel Johnson, Pope’s contemporary, pronounced it (same issue with "translating" as above. "Had taken" is wrong tense. Use of "it" again is ambiguous)

Per the OG, option D and E are incorrect because 'The appositive phrase a work ... incorrectly refers to the Iliad
How does the appositive phrase 'a work' refer the Ilaid? Why can' t the phrase refer to 'translating the Iliad' ?

Hi shivdeepmodi,

You ask a question that I am sure confuses a lot of test takers. So let's understand why in Choice D and E, "work that..." does not refer to "translating the Iliad".

The Noun + Noun modifier which you call the appositive phrase = a work that...

Now "a work" is a Noun Entity that must refer to another Noun Entity. Now, "translating" is an action word. It denotes not a conventional noun but actually the action of translating something. This is the reason why "a work" fails to modify "translating". Now, "the Iliad" follows "translating", and this is a conventional Noun Entity. This is the reason why in Choices D and E, the Noun + Noun Modifier modifies "the Iliad" and not "translating".

Hope this helps.
Thanks.
SJ
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Yes. It makes sense.
Translation - noun
Translating - verb

Hi shivdeepmodi,

It is not correct to call "translating" a Verb because it has neither any tense nor any voice. Grammatically, they are Noun Entities, but they are not our regular nouns because they denote an action. And not every action word is Verb. Calling "translating" a Verb is incorrect.

Thanks.
SJ
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Hi SJ,

I was thinking along the lines...

I am translating Gita from Hindi to English --> am translating --> action.
The translation of Gita from Hindi to English is a monumental task --> translation --> noun.

Regards,
Shivdeep

Actually an apples to apples comparison will be:

Translating Gita from Hindi to English is a monumental task --> translating used as a noun
The translation of Gita from Hindi to English is a monumental task --> translation clearly a noun

In the sentence that you have stated (I am translating Gita from Hindi to English), translating is a participle (an adjective form of the verb translate), while in the example that I have stated (Translating Gita from Hindi to English is a monumental task), translating is a gerund (a noun form of the verb translate).

p.s. Our book SC Nirvana discusses gerunds Vs participles, their application and examples in significant detail. If you can PM you email, I can send you the corresponding section.
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@e-gmat or anyone

In 1713,
Alexander Pope began his translation of the lillad,
a work that took him seven years to complete,
and
that literary critic samuel Johnson, pope's contemporary, pronounced the greatest translation in any language

--- Can you please explain the role of "that" in this sentence.
My understanding is the first "that" is functioning as a subject
a work that - subject
took him seven years to complete - verb
whereas second "that" in the sentence
a work that - subject
literaray critic samuel jackson pronounced greatest translation - No Verb .

Is the second 'that' functioning as a connector? if so can "that", one that functions as subject and one that functions as connnector be parallel/ Please clarify my confusion regarding
1) role of "that" in both cases
2) if "a work that took him seven years to complete," is a clause or modifier?
3) a work that samuel jackson prounced....is a clause or modifier

Correct. However, a more relevant point is that that is functioning as a relative pronoun here, referring to the noun work.


Actually this that is also functioning as a relative pronoun (the way the first that is working), referring to the noun work.

So, basically both the instances of that are referring to work.

p.s. Our book SC Nirvana discusses the various avatars of that, their application and examples in significant detail. If you can PM you email, I can send you the corresponding section.
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I still dont understand why many comments above said: "it" is redundant?