Breakdown of Der Einbrecher dürfte nicht nur das Geld, sondern auch den Schmuck gesucht haben.
auch
also, too
haben
to have
das Geld
the money
suchen
to look for
nicht
not
dürfen
to be allowed to, may
nur
only
der Schmuck
the jewelry
sondern
but rather
der Einbrecher
the burglar
Questions & Answers about Der Einbrecher dürfte nicht nur das Geld, sondern auch den Schmuck gesucht haben.
Why is dürfte translated as "is likely to" rather than something about permission?
While dürfen normally means "to be allowed to," here it is being used subjectively. When used in the Konjunktiv II form (dürfte), it expresses a strong assumption or high probability. In English, we express this as "is likely to" or "probably."
How does this sentence show that the assumption is about an event in the past?
The time frame is shown by the verb structure at the very end: gesucht haben. This is called a Perfekt Infinitive (a past participle + haben or sein). The modal verb dürfte represents your present guess, while gesucht haben shows that the action you are guessing about already happened.
The English translation says "looked for," but where is the word for "for" in the German sentence?
The German verb suchen means "to look for" or "to seek." It is a transitive verb, meaning it directly takes an accusative object without needing an extra preposition. That is why the sentence simply uses das Geld and den Schmuck directly in the accusative case.
How does the structure nicht nur ... sondern auch work here?
This is a two-part conjunction meaning "not only... but also." It is used to emphasize that both elements are true. Here, it connects the two accusative objects, das Geld and den Schmuck, grouping them together as the things the burglar was looking for.
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