Breakdown of Mein Visum war abgelaufen, deshalb bin ich im Hotel geblieben.
ich
I
sein
to be
in
in
das Hotel
the hotel
mein
my
bleiben
to stay
deshalb
therefore / that is why
das Visum
the visa
ablaufen
to expire
Questions & Answers about Mein Visum war abgelaufen, deshalb bin ich im Hotel geblieben.
Why is it war abgelaufen and not hatte abgelaufen?
The verb ablaufen (to expire) describes a change of state (from valid to invalid) and does not take a direct object. In German, verbs that show a change of state or a change of location use a form of sein as their helping verb. Since this is the Past Perfect tense, we use the simple past of sein, which is war.
Why does geblieben use bin instead of habe, since staying in a hotel isn't a movement or a change of state?
You are completely right that staying somewhere is the exact opposite of movement or changing state! However, bleiben (to stay) is one of the most important exceptions to this rule in German. It always takes sein as its helping verb, even though it describes staying still.
Why is the word order deshalb bin ich instead of deshalb ich bin?
The word deshalb (therefore) acts as an adverb, not a regular coordinating conjunction like und or aber. Because deshalb takes up the first position in its clause, the verb (bin) must go in the strict second position. This pushes the subject (ich) into the third position.
Why does the sentence mix the Past Perfect (war abgelaufen) and the regular Perfect tense (bin ... geblieben)?
The Past Perfect is used specifically to show that one past event happened before another past event. The visa expiring happened first, so it gets the Past Perfect (war abgelaufen). The reaction to it—staying in the hotel—happened later, so it just uses the standard past tense (in this case, the conversational Perfect tense: bin geblieben).
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