Der Baum fällt nur, weil der Biber ihn gefällt hat.
The tree only falls because the beaver felled it.
Breakdown of Der Baum fällt nur, weil der Biber ihn gefällt hat.
er
he
haben
to have
der Baum
the tree
nur
only
weil
because (subordinating)
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
fallen
to fall
fällen
to fell
der Biber
the beaver
Questions & Answers about Der Baum fällt nur, weil der Biber ihn gefällt hat.
Why does the sentence use fällt and then gefällt? Are they forms of the same verb?
No, they are a classic transitive/intransitive pair. fällt is the present tense of fallen (to fall), which is a strong, intransitive verb. gefällt here is the past participle of fällen (to fell/cut down), which is a weak, transitive verb.
Is there a trick to remembering which of these paired verbs is strong and which is weak?
Yes! In German, when a verb has both an intransitive version (an action happening on its own) and a transitive version (doing the action to a direct object), the transitive one is almost always weak. Since the beaver is doing the action to an object (ihn), fällen is weak, which is why its participle ends in -t (gefällt). The intransitive fallen is strong, so its participle ends in -en (gefallen).
Doesn't gefällt usually mean 'pleases', as in Das gefällt mir?
It often does, but context is key here! The verb gefallen (to please) conjugated for he/she/it is indeed gefällt. However, in this sentence, we are looking at a perfect tense verb at the end of the clause: gefällt hat. Here, gefällt is the past participle of fällen (to cut down), not the present tense of gefallen.
Why does the sentence use ihn when the English translation says 'it'?
The pronoun ihn refers back to der Baum (the tree). Because Baum is grammatically masculine and is the direct object being cut down, you must use the masculine accusative pronoun ihn, regardless of how it translates into English.
Why is the verb order gefällt hat at the very end of the sentence?
The word weil (because) is a subordinating conjunction. It kicks the conjugated verb to the very end of its clause. In the perfect tense, the auxiliary verb (hat) is the conjugated part, so it must be placed after the past participle (gefällt).
Learn Der Baum fällt nur, weil der Biber ihn gefällt hat and more in German
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free