Meaning & use
mandatory class
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Meanings
nouncountable
A class that everyone in a group is required to attend, with no option to skip it.
Grammar: Countable: say a mandatory class or two mandatory classes.
Patterns
- a mandatory class for someone
- a mandatory class in something
- attend a mandatory class
All first-year students have a mandatory class on academic writing.
The safety training is a mandatory class for everyone on the factory floor.
She skipped a mandatory class and had to explain it to her adviser.
nouncountablebusiness
A required session that employees or members must complete, often for legal or safety reasons.
Grammar: Often used in workplace contexts, usually in the plural: mandatory classes.
Patterns
- mandatory classes on something
- complete a mandatory class
New hires must finish three mandatory classes before they start work.
The company runs mandatory classes on data privacy every year.
Word forms
| plural | mandatory classes |
|---|
Common combinations
- a mandatory class for new employees
- There is a mandatory class for new employees on their first day.
- attend a mandatory class
- You must attend a mandatory class on fire safety.
- a mandatory training class
- The hospital requires a mandatory training class each year.
- make something a mandatory class
- The school made financial literacy a mandatory class.
Synonyms and how they differ
- required class
- Very close in meaning, but slightly more neutral and common in American schools.
- compulsory class
- The usual British choice; it sounds a little more formal than mandatory class.
- obligatory class
- Stronger and more formal; it stresses that there is no escape at all.
Opposites
Word family
- mandate noun
- An official order or permission to do something.
- mandatory adjective
- Required by a rule or law.
- mandatorily adverb
- In a way that is required; rare and formal.
Commonly confused: mandatory class or compulsory class?
mandatory class vs compulsory class
Same idea, but compulsory is the standard word in British English, while mandatory is more common in American English.
Practice
Which sentence uses 'mandatory class' correctly?
Choose one answer.
'Mandatory' means you must attend, so it fits a required lab for majors. Option 0 and 3 contradict themselves by treating a mandatory class as a free choice, and option 2 suggests a voluntary extra course, which is an elective, not a mandatory class.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “mandatory class”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.