During the twentieth century, the study of the large-scale structure

was made possible demands a by
Hence we can narrow it between B & C
and also is wrong and hence B

"Made possible by" is idiom, isn't it? or we choose based on the most shortest version?

[quote="margarette"]The answer choices for this question are all very similar in terms of pure meaning: [causal conjunction] Einstein's theory of relativity and (also)

In cases like this, where there seem to be "too many right answers", look for the simplest way to package what every answer says. Being concise is key. The simplest way isn't always the shortest, but look for complete, accurate meaning with the simplest, most direct syntax and structure.

Lastly, two smaller tip-offs that signal the right answer and might be helpful if you're stuck between choosing between two:
1. "made possible by" is slightly more idomatically common and natural than "made possible as a result of" or "made possible because of".
2. If you take a step back and look at the whole sentence, the emphasis is on the evolution from theoretical to practical, so NOT ONLY Einstein's theory, but the more practical "ability to observe extremely distant astronomical objects" as well, so emphasizing the two by using the word "both" prominently before the conjoined noun phrases.

is" made possible by" only flaw in the option D or and also is also incorrect?

I ignored option (C) and (D) becasue of expression "and also".

MGMAT SC puts expression "and also" in SUSPECT category(pg 161). Can someone suggest is it fair to ignore "and also"?

Cheers!

For "made possible", "by" would be the best, idiomatically, but I would avoid relying solely on memorization of idiomatic phrasing to choose an answer, and use it more as a last test. Basically, any formulaic or ironclad strategies such as if X then answer is Y, especially when it comes to Verbal, are tricky (but that's another discussion!).




The "because of" is certainly a detractor, as is the lack of emphasis on the conjunction (having "and also" at the end), but the overall wording of that answer choice ("because of Einstein's theory of relativity and also") is unwieldy.



"And also" may seem a little redundant, since you're basically saying the same thing twice ("and" conjoins and "also" introduces an addition) but I wouldn't put a blanket ban on it, since there are some cases where it could be used effectively. For this particular question, "and also" is incorrect because when you say "Einstein's theory of relativity AND ALSO better ability to observe extremely distant astronomical objects", it seems to subordinate the second practical example (as if you said "I like apples and also oranges", it seems as if you liked apples a bit more, right?), which we don't want to do, because the prompt says studies have "evolved from the theoretical to the practical". Using the word "both" eliminates this risk.


Feel free to let me know if you guys want me to clarify anything, I'd be happy to help!

two idioms: "made possible by" and "both X and Y."

i got it wrong. i picked A here. anyway nice explanation. another idiom is included in my list. "made possible by X and Y ....

This sentence uses the Passive Voice and in such sentences "because of" and "by" must follow the structures below:

Action because of cause/reason for the action
Action by agent of the action

Now if we look at the sentence
the field of physical cosmology was made possible because of both Einstein's theory of relativity and the better ability to observe extremely distant astronomical objects.

Einstein's theory of relativity does not (automatically) cause the field of physical cosmology.
The theory is just an agent (means), not a reason, by which the field is made possible. Hence the structure Action by agent of the action is more appropriate here.

Same logic applies to the better ability to observe extremely distant astronomical objects.

Only options B & C have the correct structure. In C "and also" is redundant, hence B is the best option.

Thanks Prasun. For sharing the inputs.
I think i got the crux here. Capturing the analysis from my end, just to ensure that we r on same page.

Because of Vs By:

Because of =>
Because of and because introduce a cause or reason for a particular situation.
Because of is followed by a noun phrase and because is followed by a clause.

Demonstrators protested
(Why?) because of their dissatisfaction.
Demonstrations arose/ occurred/ happened
(Why?) because of dissatisfaction.

Neighboring countries were worried
because of the unrest.

By =>
1:By and with introduce a means or method for a particular action that someone takes or something does.
Demonstrators protested
(How?)with a march in Tahrir Square.
by marching in Tahrir Square.

Change resulted
(How?)with the formation of a council.
by forming a temporary council.

2:After a passive verb, by introduces the agent of the action. The agent is often a person or persons, but the agent may also be inanimate.
Some protestors were injured
(by whom/what?)by other protestors.
by opposing demonstrators.

Neighboring countries were worried
by rumors about the unrest.
by news reports about the unrest.


Now coming to the original question:
the study ... evolved from the theoretical to the practical;
the field ... was made possible [This can be answered by (by whom/what);hence by is the correct usage here.]
[because of/by ] both
Einstein's theory of relativity and
the better ability to observe extremely distant astronomical objects.

During the twentieth century, the study of the large-scale structure of the universe evolved from the theoretical to the practical; the field of physical cosmology was made possible because of both Einstein's theory of relativity and the better ability to observe extremely distant astronomical objects.


A) because of both Einstein's theory of relativity and

B) by both Einstein's theory of relativity and
Correct.
C) by Einstein's theory of relativity and also

D) because of Einstein's theory of relativity and also

E) as a result of both Einstein's theory of relativity and

Are we concerned at all about "because of... the better"? The awkwardness of that really threw me off. Also, isn't "both Einstein's theory" and "the better ability" lacking in parallelism?

OFFICIAL EXPLANATION

The underlined portion of the sentence introduces two idioms: made possible by and both X and Y. The former idiom is incorrectly presented in the sentence as made possible because of.

(A) The choice is incorrect as it repeats the original sentence.

(B) CORRECT. This choice uses both idioms correctly: made possible by and both X and Y.

(C) This choice corrects the first idiom (made possible by) but introduces a new error by removing both and replacing it with and also, which is redundant.

(D) This choice repeats the original idiom error made possible because of. It also introduces a new error by removing both and replacing it with and also, which is redundant.

(E) This choice presents the incorrect idiom (made possible as a result of) rather than the correct idiom, made possible by.

Many people here have commented that answer C is wrong because it is redundant. But isn't answer choice B also redundant? ... made possible BY BOTH Einstein's theory of relativity and... (doesn't "both" make it redundant?)

That's a great point, as the both is clearly not needed there.

I'm not sure how closely we should look at this question, given that it is not an official question, but I guess that, because the GMAT loves the both X and Y structure, and has gone against and also multiple times, it's okay to choose both X and Y over and also.

I choose B over A.
But not sure why A is wrong. The sentence seems perfectly fine.
Maybe concision made me choose B.

I reached down to (A) and (B), and selected choice (A) for this one.
Though, idiom "made possible by" might sound better but what does not seem better to me is "by the ability". It seems that there are 2 reasons because of which field of cosmology was made possible, and the use of "because of" makes it more meaningful that the "ability" is one of the reason.
Still, with my reasoning, I am not sure of the idiom "made possible by" is setting up perfectly here compared to "because of"

can have because of in the answer choice since it should be followed by a reason/clause

whereas we have nouns as reasons
theory and ability
A, D and E are wrong due to this.

b/w B and C B is more idiomatically structured.