Sentence Correction

Hi All,

Could you please help me with this.

What is the difference between these two,
1) Alexander Pope began his translation of the Iliad.
2) Alexander Pope began translating the Iliad.

I found this in the below question.

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.
(A) his translation of the Iliad, a work that, taking
him seven years until completion, and that
literary critic Samuel Johnson, Pope's
contemporary, pronounced
(B) his translation of the Iliad, a work that took him
seven years to complete and that literary critic
Samuel Johnson, Pope's contemporary,
pronounced
(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
(D) translating the Iliad, a work that took seven
years until completion and that literary critic
Samuel Johnson, Pope's contemporary,
pronounced it as
(E) translating the Iliad, a work that had taken seven
years to complete and literary critic Samuel
Johnson, Pope's contemporary, pronounced it

Uva@90 wrote:Hi All,

Could you please help me with this.

What is the difference between these two,
1) Alexander Pope began his translation of the Iliad.
2) Alexander Pope began translating the Iliad.

I found this in the below question.

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.
(A) his translation of the Iliad, a work that, taking
him seven years until completion, and that
literary critic Samuel Johnson, Pope's
contemporary, pronounced
(B) his translation of the Iliad, a work that took him
seven years to complete and that literary critic
Samuel Johnson, Pope's contemporary,
pronounced
(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
(D) translating the Iliad, a work that took seven
years until completion and that literary critic
Samuel Johnson, Pope's contemporary,
pronounced it as
(E) translating the Iliad, a work that had taken seven
years to complete and literary critic Samuel
Johnson, Pope's contemporary, pronounced it

began his translation = began HIS BOOK.
began translating = began the ACT OF TRANSLATING.

D and E: Pope began translating the Iliad, a work...that literary critic Samuel Johnson...pronounced...the greatest translation in any language.
Here, the only eligible referent for a work is the Iliad, implying that the ILIAD was A WORK that Samuel Johnson pronounced the greatest translation in any language.
Not the intended meaning.
The Iliad is not a translation; it is an ancient Greek poem.
Eliminate D and E.