Breakdown of Es gibt einen Streik, deshalb wird die Ware nicht geliefert.
ein
a, an (eine)
nicht
not
es gibt
there is / there are
deshalb
therefore / that is why
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
der Streik
the strike
werden
to be (passive auxiliary + past participle)
die Ware
the goods
liefern
to deliver
Questions & Answers about Es gibt einen Streik, deshalb wird die Ware nicht geliefert.
How does the passive voice work in the second half of this sentence?
To form the passive voice in the present tense, you use a conjugated form of werden (here, wird) and put the past participle of the main verb (geliefert) at the very end of the clause. This focuses on the action happening to the goods, without needing to say who is delivering them.
Why does the German sentence use the singular wird when the English translation says 'the goods are'?
The German word die Ware (the merchandise/the commodity) is a singular feminine noun. Even though we usually translate it to the plural 'goods' in English to sound natural, the German grammar must match the singular noun. Therefore, it takes the third-person singular verb wird.
Why is the word order deshalb wird die Ware instead of deshalb die Ware wird?
deshalb (therefore) is an adverb that takes up the first position in its clause. Because the conjugated verb must always take the second position in a standard main clause, wird comes immediately after it. This pushes the subject (die Ware) to the third position.
Just to review, why is it einen Streik instead of ein Streik?
The fixed expression es gibt (there is / there are) always requires its object to be in the accusative case. Because Streik is a masculine noun (der Streik), the indefinite article must change to its accusative form, einen.
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