B2–C1 · QNN · 63 patterns

Questions, negatives, and reference

Ask precise questions and manage reference.

01 · How to use this set

Start from the communication job

Ask precise questions and manage reference.

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 63 patterns in this study set.

01The thing (that) + subject + verb + is...The thing I like most about our company is flexibility. It will be useful to revisit this before the final plan is agreed. · German parallel: Die Sache, die + subject + verb, ist...02This is the colleague who + verbThis is the colleague who helped me finish the project on time. · German parallel: Das ist der Kollege, der + verb 03The reason why + subject + verb + is...The reason why I chose this strategy is its flexibility. Everyone can return to this point at the next meeting. · German parallel: Der Grund, warum + subject + verb, ist...04What + subject + verb + is...What concerns me is the lack of a clear deadline. The team will discuss it before deciding how to proceed. · German parallel: Was + subject + verb, ist...05The place where + subject + verbThis is the place where we launched our first product. It will be useful to revisit this before the final plan is agreed. · German parallel: Der Ort, an dem + subject + verb 06The time when + subject + verbI’ll never forget the time when we signed our first big client. · German parallel: Die Zeit, als + subject + verb

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.

01The thing (that) + subject + verb + is...REL001 · The thing (that) + subject + verb + is... / Die Sache, die + subject + verb, ist...02This is the colleague who + verbREL002 · This is the colleague who + verb / Das ist der Kollege, der + verb 03The reason why + subject + verb + is...REL003 · The reason why + subject + verb + is... / Der Grund, warum + subject + verb, ist...04What + subject + verb + is...REL004 · What + subject + verb + is... / Was + subject + verb, ist...05The place where + subject + verbREL005 · The place where + subject + verb / Der Ort, an dem + subject + verb 06The time when + subject + verbREL006 · The time when + subject + verb / Die Zeit, als + subject + verb 07Could you + verb + what/when/where + subject + verbQUE001 · Could you + verb + what/when/where + subject + verb / Könnten Sie + verb + was/wann/wo + subject + verb 08Am I right in thinking that + subject + verb... ?QUE002 · Am I right in thinking that + subject + verb... ? / Liege ich richtig in der Annahme, dass + subject + verb... ?09Do you happen to know if + subject + verb... ?QUE003 · Do you happen to know if + subject + verb... ? / Wissen Sie zufällig, ob + subject + verb... ?10Who/What/When do you think + subject + verb… ?QUE004 · Who/What/When do you think + subject + verb… ? / Wer/Was/Wann denken Sie, dass + subject + verb… ?11Would you mind if + subject + past simple… ?QUE005 · Would you mind if + subject + past simple… ? / Würde es Ihnen etwas ausmachen, wenn + subject + verb im Präteritum… ?12What if + subject + past simple… ?QUE006 · What if + subject + past simple… ? / Was wäre, wenn + subject + verb im Präteritum… ?13How long + have/has + subject + been + V-ing… ?QUE007 · How long + have/has + subject + been + V-ing… ? / Wie lange + haben/hat + subject + schon + Partizip II… ?14How come + subject + verb… ?QUE008 · How come + subject + verb… ? / Wie kommt es, dass + subject + verb… ?15What if + subject + verb… ?QUE009 · What if + subject + verb… ? / Was wäre, wenn + subject + verb… ?16Who is responsible for + noun/gerund?QUE010 · Who is responsible for + noun/gerund? / Wer ist für + Akk + verantwortlich?17How long does it take to + verb?QUE011 · How long does it take to + verb? / Wie lange dauert es, + zu + Infinitiv?18Can I / Can we + verb?QUE012 · Can I / Can we + verb? / Können wir + Infinitiv?19Should I / Should we + verb?QUE013 · Should I / Should we + verb? / Soll ich / Sollen wir + Infinitiv?20Could we + verb?QUE014 · Could we + verb? / Könnten wir + Infinitiv?21Would you mind if + subject + past simple?QUE015 · Would you mind if + subject + past simple? / Würden Sie es mir übel nehmen, wenn + subject + verb (Konjunktiv II)?22May I + verb?QUE016 · May I + verb? / Darf ich + Infinitiv?23Must we + verb?QUE017 · Must we + verb? / Müssen wir + Infinitiv?24What would prevent [a funding proposal] from being implemented fairly?C1QNN001 · What would prevent [a funding proposal] from being implemented fairly? / Was würde verhindern, dass [einen Förderantrag] fair umgesetzt wird?25What would prevent [a delayed product launch] from being implemented fairly?C1QNN002 · What would prevent [a delayed product launch] from being implemented fairly? / Was würde verhindern, dass [eine verspätete Produkteinführung] fair umgesetzt wird?26What would prevent [the team’s research findings] from being implemented fairly?C1QNN003 · What would prevent [the team’s research findings] from being implemented fairly? / Was würde verhindern, dass [die Forschungsergebnisse des Teams] fair umgesetzt wird?27What would prevent [a customer complaint] from being implemented fairly?C1QNN004 · What would prevent [a customer complaint] from being implemented fairly? / Was würde verhindern, dass [eine Kundenbeschwerde] fair umgesetzt wird?28What would prevent [a public-transport plan] from being implemented fairly?C1QNN005 · What would prevent [a public-transport plan] from being implemented fairly? / Was würde verhindern, dass [einen Plan für den Nahverkehr] fair umgesetzt wird?29What would prevent [a difficult staffing decision] from being implemented fairly?C1QNN006 · What would prevent [a difficult staffing decision] from being implemented fairly? / Was würde verhindern, dass [eine schwierige Personalentscheidung] fair umgesetzt wird?30What would prevent [the revised budget] from being implemented fairly?C1QNN007 · What would prevent [the revised budget] from being implemented fairly? / Was würde verhindern, dass [das überarbeitete Budget] fair umgesetzt wird?31What would prevent [an accessibility requirement] from being implemented fairly?C1QNN008 · What would prevent [an accessibility requirement] from being implemented fairly? / Was würde verhindern, dass [eine Anforderung an Barrierefreiheit] fair umgesetzt wird?32What would prevent [a cross-border partnership] from being implemented fairly?C1QNN009 · What would prevent [a cross-border partnership] from being implemented fairly? / Was würde verhindern, dass [eine grenzüberschreitende Partnerschaft] fair umgesetzt wird?33What would prevent [the first pilot results] from being implemented fairly?C1QNN010 · What would prevent [the first pilot results] from being implemented fairly? / Was würde verhindern, dass [die ersten Ergebnisse des Pilotprojekts] fair umgesetzt wird?34What would prevent [a neighbourhood meeting] from being implemented fairly?C1QNN011 · What would prevent [a neighbourhood meeting] from being implemented fairly? / Was würde verhindern, dass [ein Treffen im Stadtteil] fair umgesetzt wird?35What would prevent [a climate-adaptation project] from being implemented fairly?C1QNN012 · What would prevent [a climate-adaptation project] from being implemented fairly? / Was würde verhindern, dass [ein Klimaanpassungsprojekt] fair umgesetzt wird?36What would prevent [a sensitive policy change] from being implemented fairly?C1QNN013 · What would prevent [a sensitive policy change] from being implemented fairly? / Was würde verhindern, dass [eine sensible Regeländerung] fair umgesetzt wird?37What would prevent [the quarterly forecast] from being implemented fairly?C1QNN014 · What would prevent [the quarterly forecast] from being implemented fairly? / Was würde verhindern, dass [die Quartalsprognose] fair umgesetzt wird?38What would prevent [a mentoring conversation] from being implemented fairly?C1QNN015 · What would prevent [a mentoring conversation] from being implemented fairly? / Was würde verhindern, dass [ein Mentoring-Gespräch] fair umgesetzt wird?39What would prevent [a data-security review] from being implemented fairly?C1QNN016 · What would prevent [a data-security review] from being implemented fairly? / Was würde verhindern, dass [eine Datenschutzprüfung] fair umgesetzt wird?40What would prevent [a conference presentation] from being implemented fairly?C1QNN017 · What would prevent [a conference presentation] from being implemented fairly? / Was würde verhindern, dass [einen Konferenzvortrag] fair umgesetzt wird?41What would prevent [a supplier contract] from being implemented fairly?C1QNN018 · What would prevent [a supplier contract] from being implemented fairly? / Was würde verhindern, dass [einen Lieferantenvertrag] fair umgesetzt wird?42What would prevent [a community health initiative] from being implemented fairly?C1QNN019 · What would prevent [a community health initiative] from being implemented fairly? / Was würde verhindern, dass [eine Gesundheitsinitiative im Quartier] fair umgesetzt wird?43What would prevent [a university curriculum] from being implemented fairly?C1QNN020 · What would prevent [a university curriculum] from being implemented fairly? / Was würde verhindern, dass [ein Hochschulcurriculum] fair umgesetzt wird?44What would prevent [a housing-development plan] from being implemented fairly?C1QNN021 · What would prevent [a housing-development plan] from being implemented fairly? / Was würde verhindern, dass [einen Wohnungsbauplan] fair umgesetzt wird?45What would prevent [a service outage] from being implemented fairly?C1QNN022 · What would prevent [a service outage] from being implemented fairly? / Was würde verhindern, dass [einen Dienstausfall] fair umgesetzt wird?46What would prevent [a museum exhibition] from being implemented fairly?C1QNN023 · What would prevent [a museum exhibition] from being implemented fairly? / Was würde verhindern, dass [eine Museumsausstellung] fair umgesetzt wird?47What would prevent [a volunteer programme] from being implemented fairly?C1QNN024 · What would prevent [a volunteer programme] from being implemented fairly? / Was würde verhindern, dass [ein Freiwilligenprogramm] fair umgesetzt wird?48What would prevent [a language-learning project] from being implemented fairly?C1QNN025 · What would prevent [a language-learning project] from being implemented fairly? / Was würde verhindern, dass [ein Sprachlernprojekt] fair umgesetzt wird?49What would prevent [a new reporting process] from being implemented fairly?C1QNN026 · What would prevent [a new reporting process] from being implemented fairly? / Was würde verhindern, dass [einen neuen Berichtsprozess] fair umgesetzt wird?50What would prevent [a workplace conflict] from being implemented fairly?C1QNN027 · What would prevent [a workplace conflict] from being implemented fairly? / Was würde verhindern, dass [einen Konflikt am Arbeitsplatz] fair umgesetzt wird?51What would prevent [an environmental impact assessment] from being implemented fairly?C1QNN028 · What would prevent [an environmental impact assessment] from being implemented fairly? / Was würde verhindern, dass [eine Umweltverträglichkeitsprüfung] fair umgesetzt wird?52What would prevent [a remote-work arrangement] from being implemented fairly?C1QNN029 · What would prevent [a remote-work arrangement] from being implemented fairly? / Was würde verhindern, dass [eine Regelung zur Telearbeit] fair umgesetzt wird?53What would prevent [a healthcare appointment system] from being implemented fairly?C1QNN030 · What would prevent [a healthcare appointment system] from being implemented fairly? / Was würde verhindern, dass [ein Terminvergabesystem im Gesundheitswesen] fair umgesetzt wird?54What would prevent [a local election debate] from being implemented fairly?C1QNN031 · What would prevent [a local election debate] from being implemented fairly? / Was würde verhindern, dass [eine kommunale Wahldebatte] fair umgesetzt wird?55What would prevent [a software migration] from being implemented fairly?C1QNN032 · What would prevent [a software migration] from being implemented fairly? / Was würde verhindern, dass [eine Softwaremigration] fair umgesetzt wird?56What would prevent [a research collaboration] from being implemented fairly?C1QNN033 · What would prevent [a research collaboration] from being implemented fairly? / Was würde verhindern, dass [eine Forschungskooperation] fair umgesetzt wird?57What would prevent [a training workshop] from being implemented fairly?C1QNN034 · What would prevent [a training workshop] from being implemented fairly? / Was würde verhindern, dass [einen Fortbildungsworkshop] fair umgesetzt wird?58What would prevent [a press statement] from being implemented fairly?C1QNN035 · What would prevent [a press statement] from being implemented fairly? / Was würde verhindern, dass [eine Presseerklärung] fair umgesetzt wird?59What would prevent [a proposed timetable] from being implemented fairly?C1QNN036 · What would prevent [a proposed timetable] from being implemented fairly? / Was würde verhindern, dass [einen vorgeschlagenen Zeitplan] fair umgesetzt wird?60What would prevent [a family-care arrangement] from being implemented fairly?C1QNN037 · What would prevent [a family-care arrangement] from being implemented fairly? / Was würde verhindern, dass [eine Regelung zur Familienpflege] fair umgesetzt wird?61What would prevent [a grant evaluation] from being implemented fairly?C1QNN038 · What would prevent [a grant evaluation] from being implemented fairly? / Was würde verhindern, dass [eine Fördermittelbewertung] fair umgesetzt wird?62What would prevent [a library modernisation] from being implemented fairly?C1QNN039 · What would prevent [a library modernisation] from being implemented fairly? / Was würde verhindern, dass [eine Modernisierung der Bibliothek] fair umgesetzt wird?63What would prevent [an emergency response plan] from being implemented fairly?C1QNN040 · What would prevent [an emergency response plan] from being implemented fairly? / Was würde verhindern, dass [einen Notfallplan] fair umgesetzt wird?

01German grammar in useTransfer German word order, cases, and particles into real use.02Transformations and reformulationRebuild the same meaning with a different grammatical or discourse frame.03Systems thinkingTrace second-order effects, bottlenecks, local optimisation, and the drivers that keep a problem recurring.04Decision quality and trade-offsCompare options by explicit criteria, weigh the cost of delay, and preserve useful flexibility when certainty is impossible.