Falling and Fallen

Question

1. "She was killed by a falling tile"2. "A man trapped by a fallen tree"Hi, when are you supposed to use fallen instead of falling to describe a noun? Or can they be used interchangeably?Thank you

Skif · Accepted Answer

GuyperOr can they be used interchangeably?

Usually falling and fallen mean different things so that they can't be replaced with each other.

I'll try to show the difference between falling and fallen basing on your second sentence:

The man trapped by the fallen tree ... = The man which was trapped by the falen tree ... (The tree has already fallen and he is trapped by it now)

The man trapped by the falling tree ... it would mean that he was trapped because of the falling process but when this process ends he may not be trapped. For instance, he(or she) couldn't run forward because tree was falling in that moment so that he should wait until it fell...

but next 2 sentences are equal:

The man killed by the falling tree ... = The man which was killed as result of the tree fall ... (It denotes that it was the result of the process)

The man killed by the falled tree ... - is also correct

Anonymous · Answer

I have never fallen in love before but

Falling and Fallen

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