Breakdown of Es gibt einen Stau auf der Straße. Darum komme ich zu spät.
ich
I
ein
a, an (eine)
kommen
to come
zu
too (e.g., too big)
spät
late
auf
on / to (down/up to a level)
es gibt
there is / there are
die Straße
the street
darum
therefore / for that reason
der Stau
the traffic jam
Questions & Answers about Es gibt einen Stau auf der Straße. Darum komme ich zu spät.
Why is it komme ich instead of ich komme?
Darum is an adverb meaning "therefore" or "for that reason." Because it is in Position 1 of the sentence, the verb komme must stay in Position 2. The subject ich moves to Position 3 right after the verb. This is why the word order swaps.
Can I use deshalb or deswegen instead of darum here?
Yes! Darum, deshalb, and deswegen all basically mean "therefore" or "for that reason." You can swap darum for deshalb or deswegen without changing the meaning or the word order at all: Deshalb komme ich zu spät.
Why is it einen Stau and not ein Stau?
The phrase es gibt (there is/there are) always requires the accusative case for the thing that exists. Since Stau (traffic jam) is a masculine noun (der Stau), it changes to the accusative form einen Stau.
Why does it say auf der Straße if Straße is a feminine noun? Doesn't der mean it's masculine?
Straße is indeed feminine (die Straße). However, the preposition auf is a two-way preposition. Because the traffic jam is located somewhere and not moving to a new destination, we are answering the question "Where?" and must use the dative case. The dative form of die is der, making it auf der Straße.
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