Breakdown of Er ist glücklich, weil er die Prüfung bestanden hat.
sein
to be
er
he
haben
to have
glücklich
happy
die Prüfung
the exam
weil
because (subordinating)
bestehen
to pass (exam)
Questions & Answers about Er ist glücklich, weil er die Prüfung bestanden hat.
Why is the verb hat at the very end of the sentence?
The word weil (because) is a subordinating conjunction. This means it creates a subordinate clause and forces the conjugated verb (the verb matching the subject, which in this case is hat) to move to the very end of that clause.
Why are the verbs ordered as bestanden hat instead of hat bestanden?
In the spoken past tense (Perfekt), you normally have a helping verb (hat) and a past participle (bestanden). Because weil pushes the conjugated helping verb to the absolute end of the sentence, it has to land directly after the past participle rather than before it.
Why doesn't the past participle bestanden start with 'ge-' like most past tense verbs?
The dictionary form of this verb is bestehen (to pass). Verbs that start with the inseparable prefix be- do not take the ge- prefix when forming their past participle.
Do I always have to put a comma before weil?
Yes! In English, we often drop the comma before 'because', but in German, subordinate clauses starting with weil must always be separated from the main clause by a comma.
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