Breakdown of Der Vertrag muss unterschrieben sein.
sein
to be
müssen
to have to, must
der Vertrag
the contract
unterschreiben
to sign
Questions & Answers about Der Vertrag muss unterschrieben sein.
What is the difference between muss unterschrieben sein and muss unterschrieben werden?
werden forms the process passive, focusing on the action itself: someone needs to physically sign the contract. sein forms the state passive, focusing on the result or condition. In this sentence, we care about the completed status (the contract must exist in a signed state, perhaps before a deadline) rather than the act of someone signing it.
Why is there no -ge- prefix in the past participle unterschrieben?
The verb unterschreiben (to sign) uses the inseparable prefix unter-. Verbs with inseparable prefixes do not take the -ge- marker when forming their past participle.
Why are unterschrieben and sein placed at the very end of the sentence?
In German, a conjugated modal verb like muss takes the second position in a main clause and sends the rest of the verbal complex to the end. For the state passive with a modal, the past participle (unterschrieben) is placed right before the infinitive sein at the end of the sentence.
How would you say 'The contract had to be signed' in the past tense?
You only need to change the modal verb muss to its simple past form, musste. The rest of the sentence stays exactly the same: Der Vertrag musste unterschrieben sein.