The structure is as follows:Modal verb (usually in the present tense) + past participle of the main verb (e.g.
gewesen, gesagt) + haben or sein depending on the main verb.Examples:Sie kann die Inhaberin des Hotels gewesen sein.
She could have been the owner of the hotel (I suppose).
(= It is possible that she was the owner of the hotel.)Sie muss das gleich am Anfang gesagt haben.
She must have said that right at the outset (I suppose).
(= It must be the case that she did so. That is what I suppose/deduce/expect.)
Er soll die Stelle bekommen haben.
He is believed to have got the job./They say he got the job.On the range of meanings each of the modal verbs can have, see 35.6 (p. 77).
(b) The hätte sein müssen/hätte sagen müssen pattern expresses an unrealized
possibility attaching to an event in the past. The speaker is effectively asserting or
implying that a particular eventuality did not happen.The structure is as follows:hätte/hättest/hätten/hättet + infinitive of the main verb + infinitive of the modal
verb.Note that this structure is actually the simpler of the two, because it always uses a form
of hätte even when the main verb is one that forms the perfect and pluperfect tense
with sein.Examples:Sie hätte die Inhaberin des Hotels sein können.
She could have been the owner of the hotel (but it didn’t happen).Sie hätte das gleich am Anfang sagen müssen.
She would have had to say that right at the outset (but she didn’t).Er hätte die Stelle bekommen sollen.
He ought to have got the job (but he didn’t).See also 39.3d (p. 95) and 39.8 (p. 101).
36 Separable and inseparable verbs
See^57 (pp. 142–5) for meaning.
36.1 Verbs with a separable prefix
Separable verbs consist of a verb and a verbal prefix, e.g. ab*fahren ‘to drive off ’. The
prefix is typically, but not always, a preposition.36
Separable/inseparable