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Ich frage mich, ob im folgenden Satz:

Da die meisten Menschen ständig erreichbar sind, fallen Verabredungen heutzutage unverbindlicher aus.

das Wort unverbindlicher ein Adverb ist.

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  • No it's a compared adjective belonging to Verabredungen. Nov 18, 2018 at 15:20
  • sorry but compare what exactly?
    – Millen
    Nov 18, 2018 at 19:13
  • "sorry but compare what exactly?" unverbindlich to unverbindlicher. Comparing is used in the sense of the grammatical term in my comment. Nov 18, 2018 at 19:15
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    This question is really interesting because the question is whether unverbindlicher is a predicative or an adverb. Unfortunately the comparative obscures this question.
    – RHa
    Nov 18, 2018 at 19:26
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    @Millen I don't understand how you could come to the conclusion that unverbindlicher would act as an adverb at all? Could you elaborate about that misconception please? Nov 18, 2018 at 20:20

1 Answer 1

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Words with the markers -bar, -ig, -isch, -lich, -los, -sam, -voll before the ending are most times adjectives made from verbs or nouns.

You can put those adjectives into comparative and superlative as any other adjective. Most of them can take the prefix un- (sometimes in- instead), and of course they borrow the prefixes of the verb they are made of.

verbinden → verbindlich → unverbindlich, unverbindlicher, am unverbindlichsten

Da die meisten Menschen ständig erreichbar sind, fallen Verabredungen heutzutage unverbindlicher aus.

And yes, this adjective unverbindlicher is either used as an adverb or a predicative adjective here. The latter because the meaning of ausfallen is sein (more exact: to be often/to be in particular) in your example.

Da die meisten Menschen ständig erreichbar sind, sind Verabredungen heutzutage oft unverbindlicher.

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  • 2
    Correct me if I am wrong. 1. Can't be an attributive adjective because if it is an adjective of Verabredungen, it should be in nominative unverbindliche or unverbindlichere (if comparative). 2. Can't be a predicative adjective because there is no sein, bleiben, werden. 3. Adverb (what I think to be right) from the comparative adjective (unverbindlicher) and means here 'in a way more noncommital'.
    – Abdullah
    Nov 18, 2018 at 18:32
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    I think it's a corner case because ausfallen has the meaning sein (more exactly: to be in particular) in the example sentence. But this difference between adverbs and predicative adjectives isn't of practical use anyway. (At least I don't see one.)
    – Janka
    Nov 18, 2018 at 19:31
  • Abdullah‘s answer has got it right. Nov 18, 2018 at 22:23

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