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### Setting the Scene

Setting up a world record attempt requires precision. When things go wrong, we often look at the causes. To say "due to" or "because of," use the preposition **aufgrund** followed by the Genitive case.

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### Past Unreal Passive with Modals

When looking back at a disastrous domino attempt, you will likely need to express what *should have been done*. To combine the Past Unreal Passive with a modal verb, you use a four-part verb structure.

1. Place the *Konjunktiv II* form of **haben** (**hätte** or **hätten**, depending on the subject) in Position 2. (Notice we use *haben* here instead of *sein*, because modal verbs form their past perfect with *haben*.)
2. At the very end of the sentence, build a three-verb cluster: the **Past Participle** of your main verb, followed immediately by **werden**, and finally the **Modal Infinitive** (like **müssen**).

This creates the strict final cluster: **Past Participle** + **werden** + **müssen**.

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### Using Können and Sollen

You can change the nuance of the sentence simply by swapping the modal verb at the very end of the cluster. The grammatical rules and word order remain exactly the same.

Use **können** to express what *could have been done*, and **sollen** to express what *ought to have been done*.

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Past unreal passive with modals (hätte ... werden müssen)

adjective

adverb

auxiliary verb

conjunction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

particle

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Definite articles and gender (der, die, das)

Indefinite articles (ein, eine)

Regular verbs and statement word order (ich -e, er -t)

The second person (du -st, Sie -en)

Yes/No questions

The verb 'to have' (habe, hast, hat)

Plural pronouns and regular verbs (wir, ihr, sie)

Plural 'to be' and 'to have' (sind, haben)

Plural nouns and the plural article (die)

Sentence negation (nicht)

Noun negation (kein, keine)

Question words (wer, was, wo, wie)

Numbers 0 to 12 (null, eins, zwei)

The accusative case (den, die, das)

Indefinite accusative articles (einen, keinen)

Direct object pronouns (mich, dich, ihn)

There is / there are (es gibt)

Vowel changes: e to i/ie (er spricht, sie liest)

Vowel changes: a to ä (er fährt)

Weather and conditions (es regnet)

First- and second-person possessives in the nominative (mein, dein, Ihr)

First- and second-person possessives in the accusative (meinen, deinen, Ihren)

Third-person and plural possessives (sein, ihr, unser, euer)

Possession with names (Annas Auto)

Demonstrative pronouns (dieser, diese, dieses)

Expressing preference (gern, lieber)

Asking about direction and origin (woher, wohin)

Expressing ability (können)

Polite requests (möchten)

Expressing intention (wollen)

Modal verbs of obligation and permission (müssen, dürfen)

Separable prefix verbs

Adverbs of frequency (immer, oft, manchmal, nie)

The Dative case and definite articles (dem, der, den)

Dative indefinite and negative articles (einem, einer, keinem)

Dative personal pronouns (mir, dir, ihm, ihr...)

Dative verbs (helfen, danken, gefallen, schmecken)

Dative prepositions (aus, bei, mit, nach...)

Accusative prepositions (für, ohne, gegen)

Two-way prepositions for location (in, an, auf...)

Informal singular imperative (mach, komm)

Plural and formal imperative (macht, machen Sie)

Coordinating conjunctions (und, oder, aber, denn)

Simple past of sein and haben (war, hatte)

The perfect tense: regular verbs (gemacht, gespielt)

Past tense: irregular verbs (ge-...-en)

The perfect tense: mixed verbs (gebracht, gekannt)

The perfect tense with sein (ist gegangen)

The perfect tense: separable verbs (eingekauft)

The perfect tense: inseparable and -ieren verbs (besucht, studiert)

Informal singular commands (mach, lern)

Numbers 13 to 20 (dreizehn to zwanzig)

Counting by tens to 100 (dreißig, vierzig)

Telling time (Uhr, halb, Viertel, vor, nach)

Numbers 21 to 99 (einundzwanzig, zweiunddreißig)

Greetings and farewells

Thank you, sorry and good wishes

Everyday replies

Numbers 100 to 1,000,000 (hundert, tausend...)

Becoming and getting (werden)

The impersonal pronoun (man)

Indefinite pronouns (jemand, niemand...)

Time sequence prepositions (vor, nach, bei)

Time span prepositions (von... bis, seit, für)

Adverbs of sequence (zuerst, dann, danach)

Two-way prepositions for direction (in, auf, an...)

Directional adverbs (hin, her)

Placement verbs (setzen, stellen, legen)

Months of the year (Januar, Februar)

The four seasons (Frühling, Sommer)

Time prepositions and indefinite pronouns (an, in, um)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 19th (am ersten)

Ordinals 20th and beyond (-ste, -sten)

Placement vs. location verbs (stellen vs. stehen)

Accusative reflexive pronouns (mich, dich, sich)

Accusative reflexive verbs (sich freuen)

Dative reflexive pronouns (mir, dir, sich)

Dative reflexive verbs (sich etwas merken)

Ordinal numbers 11th to 19th (-te)

Temporal prepositions (an, in, um)

Double objects with nouns

Double objects with pronouns

The modal verb for advice (sollen)

Simple past of modal verbs (musste, wollte...)

Simple past of common irregulars (wurde, wusste, es gab)

Adverbial connectors of consequence (deshalb, darum...)

Subordinate clauses for statements (dass)

Question	Answer
the domino	der Dominostein
the gymnasium	die Turnhalle
to set up	aufstellen
We set up the dominoes in the large gymnasium.	Wir haben die Dominosteine in der großen Turnhalle aufgestellt.
the draft (current of air)	die Zugluft
the disaster	das Desaster
Due to the draft, the disaster started suddenly.	Aufgrund der Zugluft begann das Desaster plötzlich.
the record attempt	der Rekordversuch
The record attempt should have been planned better.	Der Rekordversuch hätte besser geplant werden müssen.
to prevent	verhindern
The draft absolutely should have been prevented.	Die Zugluft hätte unbedingt verhindert werden müssen.
to cordon off	absperren
Furthermore, the gymnasium should have been completely cordoned off.	Zudem hätte die Turnhalle komplett abgesperrt werden müssen.
the safety distance	der Sicherheitsabstand
A larger safety distance should have been kept.	Ein größerer Sicherheitsabstand hätte eingehalten werden müssen.
the gust of wind	der Windstoß
In addition to that, a small gust of wind caused the disaster.	Darüber hinaus verursachte ein kleiner Windstoß das Desaster.
This gust of wind could have been prevented by a closed window.	Dieser Windstoß hätte durch ein geschlossenes Fenster verhindert werden können.
He was sad about the fact that we set up the dominoes incorrectly.	Er war traurig darüber, dass wir die Dominosteine falsch aufstellten.
This record attempt could have been saved.	Dieser Rekordversuch hätte gerettet werden können.
The building should have been cordoned off because of the fans.	Das Gebäude hätte wegen der Fans abgesperrt werden sollen.
Due to the audience, the safety distance was very important.	Aufgrund des Publikums war der Sicherheitsabstand sehr wichtig.