Breakdown of Der Zug hatte Verspätung. Aus diesem Grund kam sie zu spät.
kommen
to come
haben
to have
der Zug
the train
zu
too (e.g., too big)
spät
late
die Verspätung
the delay
aus diesem Grund
for this reason
Questions & Answers about Der Zug hatte Verspätung. Aus diesem Grund kam sie zu spät.
Why does the German sentence say hatte Verspätung instead of using an adjective for "was delayed"?
In German, it is most natural to express that a scheduled transport like a train or bus is delayed by saying it "has delay" (hat Verspätung). While you could grammatically say it was delayed (war verspätet), using the noun phrase is the standard everyday expression.
Why does the word diesem end in -em in the phrase Aus diesem Grund?
The preposition aus always forces the following noun phrase into the dative case. Since Grund (reason) is a masculine noun (der Grund), the word for "this" (dies-) takes the masculine dative ending -em.
Why is the word order kam sie rather than sie kam?
This happens because of the German "verb-second" rule. The phrase Aus diesem Grund occupies the first position in the second sentence. The conjugated verb (kam) must stay in position two, so the subject (sie) is pushed to position three, right after the verb.
What is the difference between Verspätung and zu spät?
Verspätung is a noun meaning "a delay," and it is mostly used when scheduled things like trains, flights, or meetings have a delay. Zu spät literally means "too late" and is used as an adverb phrase when a person arrives past the expected time.
Learn Der Zug hatte Verspätung. Aus diesem Grund kam sie zu spät 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