Breakdown of Wegen der Geschwindigkeit bist du leider durchgefallen.
sein
to be
du
you (informal singular)
leider
unfortunately
wegen
because of
durchfallen
to fail
die Geschwindigkeit
the speed
Questions & Answers about Wegen der Geschwindigkeit bist du leider durchgefallen.
Why is it der Geschwindigkeit if the noun is feminine?
The preposition wegen (because of) requires the genitive case in standard German. Since Geschwindigkeit is feminine, its article changes from die to der in the genitive. Even in casual spoken German, where wegen is often used with the dative case instead, the feminine article still becomes der.
Why does the verb bist come before the subject du?
In German, the conjugated verb must be the second element in a main clause. Since the entire phrase Wegen der Geschwindigkeit takes up the first position, the verb bist must come immediately after it, pushing the subject du into the third position.
Why do we use bist instead of hast for the past tense of failing?
The verb durchfallen (to fail) forms its conversational past tense with sein (to be) rather than haben (to have). In German, verbs that express a change of state or a change of location take sein, and failing is treated as a change of state.
Why is the -ge- in the middle of durchgefallen?
It is the past participle of the separable verb durchfallen. When forming the past participle for separable verbs, the standard -ge- marker is squeezed between the prefix (durch-) and the base verb (fallen), creating durchgefallen.
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