question on a sentence: which part does "vermutlich" refer to?

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edmont
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question on a sentence: which part does "vermutlich" refer to?

Beitrag von edmont »

In the sentence below, does vermutlich refer only to the characterization "SPD-Mitglied"? Or does it also refer to the description of Hammer as active on the united proletarian action committee? (Looks like vermutlich refers to both.)
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Bei Hammer handelt es sich vermutlich um ein SPD-Mitglied, das im Aktions-Ausschuß des geeinten Proletariats tätig war.

Attempted translation:
In the case of Hammer, he was probably an SPD member active on the Action Committee of the United Proletariat.
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Thank you for any assistance.




tiorthan
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Re: question on a sentence: which part does "vermutlich" refer to?

Beitrag von tiorthan »

By using "vermutlich" as an adverbial in this sentence the author actually qualifies the whole sentence as "vermutlich" not just any of its parts.

It's like "it is probably a yellow cat" is a less specific version of either of these:
- it is yellow and probably a cat
- it is a cat that is probably yellow
- it is probably a cat that is probably yellow

I hope that I've found a good enough example here.
You're never too old to learn something stupid.
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edmont
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Re: question on a sentence: which part does "vermutlich" refer to?

Beitrag von edmont »

Tiorthan, thank you very much for the clear answer.

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