Word
De flesta människor tror troligen på myten.
Meaning
Most people probably believe the myth.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Breakdown of De flesta människor tror troligen på myten.
tro
to believe
på
on / at / for (wait for) / in (believe in)
människan
the human
de flesta
most (countable)
Questions & Answers about De flesta människor tror troligen på myten.
How is the sentence adverb troligen formed here?
It is built from the adjective trolig (probable/believable), which comes from the verb tro (to believe). By adding the suffix -en to adjectives ending in -lig, we create sentence adverbs like troligen (probably). Notice the neat repetition in this sentence: tror troligen essentially means "believably believe"!
Why is the noun människor in the indefinite form when it follows de flesta?
Even though the phrase starts with the definite article de, the expression de flesta (most) is a classic exception to the usual agreement rules. It is typically followed by a noun in the indefinite plural. Therefore, we say de flesta människor, whereas de flesta människorna sounds unnatural.
What is the difference between tror and tror på in this context?
You use tror på when you believe in something's existence or underlying truth, such as a myth, a religion, or a person's abilities. If you just use tror on its own, it generally means to "think" (hold an opinion) or to believe a direct statement. Since a myth is a concept you believe in, the preposition på is required here.
If I wanted to emphasize troligen by putting it at the start of the sentence, how would the word order change?