B2–C1 · MOD · 45 patterns

Modality and obligation

Express necessity, permission, and recommendation.

01 · How to use this set

Start from the communication job

Express necessity, permission, and recommendation.

Read the frame, try to complete your own sentence before opening an example, then compare the English structure with its German parallel. The point is retrieval and choice, not passive list reading.

02 · Representative patterns

Start with these reusable frames

A compact sample from the 45 patterns in this study set.

01must have + Past ParticipleYou must have seen this document already. The team will discuss it before deciding how to proceed. · German parallel: müssen + Partizip II + haben 02might have + Past ParticipleWe might have misunderstood the task. It will be useful to revisit this before the final plan is agreed. · German parallel: könnten + Partizip II + haben 03should have + Past ParticipleYou should’ve informed me earlier. The wider context will matter when the next decision is made. · German parallel: hättest + Partizip II + sollen 04could have + Past ParticipleI could have made the report more detailed. Everyone can return to this point at the next meeting. · German parallel: hätte + Partizip II + können 05may / might + VYou may leave early today if your tasks are done. The team will discuss it before deciding how to proceed. · German parallel: dürfen + Infinitiv / vielleicht + Verb 06For [a funding proposal] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits.For a funding proposal to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits. · German parallel: Damit [einen Förderantrag] gelingt, müssen alle die Grenzen verstehen.

03 · Complete set

Browse every pattern

The canonical list follows below. Every pattern has a stable ID and its own page for examples, translation, and reuse.

01must have + Past ParticipleMOD001 · must have + Past Participle / müssen + Partizip II + haben 02might have + Past ParticipleMOD002 · might have + Past Participle / könnten + Partizip II + haben 03should have + Past ParticipleMOD003 · should have + Past Participle / hättest + Partizip II + sollen 04could have + Past ParticipleMOD004 · could have + Past Participle / hätte + Partizip II + können 05may / might + VMOD005 · may / might + V / dürfen + Infinitiv / vielleicht + Verb 06For [a funding proposal] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits.C1MOD001 · For [a funding proposal] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits. / Damit [einen Förderantrag] gelingt, müssen alle die Grenzen verstehen.07For [a delayed product launch] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits.C1MOD002 · For [a delayed product launch] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits. / Damit [eine verspätete Produkteinführung] gelingt, müssen alle die Grenzen verstehen.08For [the team’s research findings] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits.C1MOD003 · For [the team’s research findings] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits. / Damit [die Forschungsergebnisse des Teams] gelingt, müssen alle die Grenzen verstehen.09For [a customer complaint] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits.C1MOD004 · For [a customer complaint] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits. / Damit [eine Kundenbeschwerde] gelingt, müssen alle die Grenzen verstehen.10For [a public-transport plan] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits.C1MOD005 · For [a public-transport plan] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits. / Damit [einen Plan für den Nahverkehr] gelingt, müssen alle die Grenzen verstehen.11For [a difficult staffing decision] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits.C1MOD006 · For [a difficult staffing decision] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits. / Damit [eine schwierige Personalentscheidung] gelingt, müssen alle die Grenzen verstehen.12For [the revised budget] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits.C1MOD007 · For [the revised budget] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits. / Damit [das überarbeitete Budget] gelingt, müssen alle die Grenzen verstehen.13For [an accessibility requirement] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits.C1MOD008 · For [an accessibility requirement] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits. / Damit [eine Anforderung an Barrierefreiheit] gelingt, müssen alle die Grenzen verstehen.14For [a cross-border partnership] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits.C1MOD009 · For [a cross-border partnership] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits. / Damit [eine grenzüberschreitende Partnerschaft] gelingt, müssen alle die Grenzen verstehen.15For [the first pilot results] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits.C1MOD010 · For [the first pilot results] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits. / Damit [die ersten Ergebnisse des Pilotprojekts] gelingt, müssen alle die Grenzen verstehen.16For [a neighbourhood meeting] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits.C1MOD011 · For [a neighbourhood meeting] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits. / Damit [ein Treffen im Stadtteil] gelingt, müssen alle die Grenzen verstehen.17For [a climate-adaptation project] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits.C1MOD012 · For [a climate-adaptation project] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits. / Damit [ein Klimaanpassungsprojekt] gelingt, müssen alle die Grenzen verstehen.18For [a sensitive policy change] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits.C1MOD013 · For [a sensitive policy change] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits. / Damit [eine sensible Regeländerung] gelingt, müssen alle die Grenzen verstehen.19For [the quarterly forecast] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits.C1MOD014 · For [the quarterly forecast] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits. / Damit [die Quartalsprognose] gelingt, müssen alle die Grenzen verstehen.20For [a mentoring conversation] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits.C1MOD015 · For [a mentoring conversation] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits. / Damit [ein Mentoring-Gespräch] gelingt, müssen alle die Grenzen verstehen.21For [a data-security review] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits.C1MOD016 · For [a data-security review] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits. / Damit [eine Datenschutzprüfung] gelingt, müssen alle die Grenzen verstehen.22For [a conference presentation] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits.C1MOD017 · For [a conference presentation] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits. / Damit [einen Konferenzvortrag] gelingt, müssen alle die Grenzen verstehen.23For [a supplier contract] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits.C1MOD018 · For [a supplier contract] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits. / Damit [einen Lieferantenvertrag] gelingt, müssen alle die Grenzen verstehen.24For [a community health initiative] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits.C1MOD019 · For [a community health initiative] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits. / Damit [eine Gesundheitsinitiative im Quartier] gelingt, müssen alle die Grenzen verstehen.25For [a university curriculum] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits.C1MOD020 · For [a university curriculum] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits. / Damit [ein Hochschulcurriculum] gelingt, müssen alle die Grenzen verstehen.26For [a housing-development plan] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits.C1MOD021 · For [a housing-development plan] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits. / Damit [einen Wohnungsbauplan] gelingt, müssen alle die Grenzen verstehen.27For [a service outage] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits.C1MOD022 · For [a service outage] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits. / Damit [einen Dienstausfall] gelingt, müssen alle die Grenzen verstehen.28For [a museum exhibition] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits.C1MOD023 · For [a museum exhibition] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits. / Damit [eine Museumsausstellung] gelingt, müssen alle die Grenzen verstehen.29For [a volunteer programme] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits.C1MOD024 · For [a volunteer programme] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits. / Damit [ein Freiwilligenprogramm] gelingt, müssen alle die Grenzen verstehen.30For [a language-learning project] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits.C1MOD025 · For [a language-learning project] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits. / Damit [ein Sprachlernprojekt] gelingt, müssen alle die Grenzen verstehen.31For [a new reporting process] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits.C1MOD026 · For [a new reporting process] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits. / Damit [einen neuen Berichtsprozess] gelingt, müssen alle die Grenzen verstehen.32For [a workplace conflict] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits.C1MOD027 · For [a workplace conflict] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits. / Damit [einen Konflikt am Arbeitsplatz] gelingt, müssen alle die Grenzen verstehen.33For [an environmental impact assessment] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits.C1MOD028 · For [an environmental impact assessment] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits. / Damit [eine Umweltverträglichkeitsprüfung] gelingt, müssen alle die Grenzen verstehen.34For [a remote-work arrangement] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits.C1MOD029 · For [a remote-work arrangement] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits. / Damit [eine Regelung zur Telearbeit] gelingt, müssen alle die Grenzen verstehen.35For [a healthcare appointment system] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits.C1MOD030 · For [a healthcare appointment system] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits. / Damit [ein Terminvergabesystem im Gesundheitswesen] gelingt, müssen alle die Grenzen verstehen.36For [a local election debate] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits.C1MOD031 · For [a local election debate] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits. / Damit [eine kommunale Wahldebatte] gelingt, müssen alle die Grenzen verstehen.37For [a software migration] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits.C1MOD032 · For [a software migration] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits. / Damit [eine Softwaremigration] gelingt, müssen alle die Grenzen verstehen.38For [a research collaboration] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits.C1MOD033 · For [a research collaboration] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits. / Damit [eine Forschungskooperation] gelingt, müssen alle die Grenzen verstehen.39For [a training workshop] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits.C1MOD034 · For [a training workshop] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits. / Damit [einen Fortbildungsworkshop] gelingt, müssen alle die Grenzen verstehen.40For [a press statement] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits.C1MOD035 · For [a press statement] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits. / Damit [eine Presseerklärung] gelingt, müssen alle die Grenzen verstehen.41For [a proposed timetable] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits.C1MOD036 · For [a proposed timetable] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits. / Damit [einen vorgeschlagenen Zeitplan] gelingt, müssen alle die Grenzen verstehen.42For [a family-care arrangement] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits.C1MOD037 · For [a family-care arrangement] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits. / Damit [eine Regelung zur Familienpflege] gelingt, müssen alle die Grenzen verstehen.43For [a grant evaluation] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits.C1MOD038 · For [a grant evaluation] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits. / Damit [eine Fördermittelbewertung] gelingt, müssen alle die Grenzen verstehen.44For [a library modernisation] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits.C1MOD039 · For [a library modernisation] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits. / Damit [eine Modernisierung der Bibliothek] gelingt, müssen alle die Grenzen verstehen.45For [an emergency response plan] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits.C1MOD040 · For [an emergency response plan] to succeed, everyone needs to understand the limits. / Damit [einen Notfallplan] gelingt, müssen alle die Grenzen verstehen.

01Passive and impersonal styleUse formal, process-focused language.02Reported speech and attributionReport what people said with accuracy.03Tense and aspectPosition actions in time and show duration or completion.04Questions, negatives, and referenceAsk precise questions and manage reference.