Parsing possibility?

Question

What is the correct way to parse the following sentence: It is possible that one can be happy only if one can be free. Does the sentence say: It is possible that [one can be happy only if one can be free]. or does it say: [It is possible that one can be happy] only if [one can be free].

Answer 1

First let's ask ourselves what the "It" is. The "It" of course is just a placeholder for the noun-equivalent clause "that one can be happy." But the clause "only if one can be free" is a hypothesis, called the protasis of a conditional sentence.

This sentence has redundant possibility in it:

It is possible

that one can be happy

only if one can be free.

Hope this helps!