Airplanes departing in a timely manner can some times be prevented by

Airplanes departing in a timely manner can some times be prevented by any one of a variety of factors, such as severe weather or a security threat.


(A) Airplanes departing in a timely manner can some times be prevented by any one of a variety of factors, such as severe weather or a security threat. Incorrect

passive form

(B) Any one of a variety of factors, such as severe weather or a security threat, some times can prevent airplanes from their timely departing. Incorrect

meaning change - Any one ....sometimes can .... ,
Any one ....can sometimes .... - correct

(C) Any one of a variety of factors, such as severe weather or a security threat, can sometimes prevent the timely departure of airplanes. Correct

(D) The severity of the weather or a security threat, among a variety of other factors, can some of the time prevent airplanes departing on time. Incorrect

meaning change
this choice is redundant

(E) Timely departures of airplanes are sometimes prevented as a result of severe weather, a security threat, or various other factors. Incorrect

tense error - past form 'prevented' is wrong

(A) Airplanes departing in a timely manner can sometimes be prevented by any one of a variety of factors, such as severe weather or a security threat.
Grammatically correct. Hold on with it

(B) Any one of a variety of factors, such as severe weather or a security threat, sometimes can prevent airplanes from their timely departing.
Incorrect . " can" should come immediately after non-essential modifiers.

(C) Any one of a variety of factors, such as severe weather or a security threat, can sometimes prevent the timely departure of airplanes.
Grammatically correct.

(D) The severity of the weather or a security threat, among a variety of other factors, can some of the time prevent airplanes departing on time.
Severity Of the weather is not parallel with a security threat.

(E) Timely departures of airplanes are sometimes prevented as a result of severe weather, a security threat, or various other factors.
The severe weather itself did not result to "Timely departures of airplanes are sometimes prevented"
Between A and C, C is concise.

IMO C

Airplanes departing in a timely manner can some times be prevented by any one of a variety of factors, such as severe weather or a security threat.

A and D Airplanes cannot be prevented, but the timely departure of airplanes can be prevented. Also, something should be prevented from something else, without that "from what" part meaning is not clear in A and D.
D has the same meaning problem as A, also "some of the time" is not idiomatically correct.
However in D, I think 'severity of the weather or a security threat' is parallel as they're just noun phrase and noun, Need some help here please.

(E) "departures are not prevented" is not a result of the factors mentioned.

(B) Any one of a variety of factors, such as severe weather or a security threat, some times can prevent airplanes from their timely departing.
(C) Any one of a variety of factors, such as severe weather or a security threat, can sometimes prevent the timely departure of airplanes.

Though the prevented from "what" is clear in B and C, meaning wise "prevent the timely departure" is better than "prevent airplanes from their timely departing"

IMO, C is correct.

Airplanes departing in a timely manner can some times be prevented by any one of a variety of factors, such as severe weather or a security threat.

The departure of the airplanes is prevented, not the airplanes themselves.
Eliminate A, B, and D.

(C) Any one of a variety of factors, such as severe weather or a security threat, can sometimes prevent the timely departure of airplanes.
Correct

(E) Timely departures of airplanes are sometimes prevented as a result of severe weather, a security threat, or various other factors.
Use of 'prevented' is not required. Eliminate.

Choice C is the answer.

I am a bit confused on seeing the official explanation, can you please explain why the usage of passive voice is wrong? Though I agree for other reasons C is correct, but not sure how voice is one of them.

for example, in "the city was devastated by the recent hurricane" the emphasize can very well be on the city that was devastated than on the hurricane.

similarly, "timely departure is prevented by multiple factors" is not wrong. is it?

petrichor , the passive voice is not wrong. The passive voice in this case is not as effective as the active voice.

We want the best of all sentences or the better of two sentences.
One grammatical sentence may not be as stylistically compelling as another grammatical sentence.

Everyone should remember this bit: In all three verbal sections, you should:
1) eliminate the four worst answers rather than looking for a "right" answer;
2) check the remaining answer one more time and choose it if it's grammatical; and
3) remember that you must often ask: is this option better or worse than that option?

English is an end-weighted language.

In English the end of a sentence almost always carries the most emphasis. See HERE, and HERE.

True, we can construct sentences such as the very good example you wrote.

But from a writer's and editor's perspective, option E is a "flabby" sentence.
It ends with the vague phrase "or various other factors."
Blah. Blech.

Compare to (C), which uses the phrase "any one of a variety of factors."
→ The phrase is fleshed out—given concrete content—with specific examples.
→ "Any one of a variety of factors" sounds like an impressive set of daunting possibilities. Any one of those daunting possibilities metaphorically "stands ready" to prevent timely departure of airplanes. Flying is a crapshoot.

By contrast, "various other factors" in (E) sounds like a tacked-on third example whose vagueness deprives the factors of daunting and unpredictable force. Rhetorically, option E's construction ends on a low note.

Option C's construction gives us the best of both worlds: the subject drives the action and the sentence ends with a significant outcome.

Ultimately, Option C's use of active voice is better than option E's use of passive voice.
I don't think a person could make a persuasive and nearly bulletproof counterargument in favor of E.

Hope that answer helps.

generis, that clears the air , thanks a lot for the explanation!

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