Wir reichen die Verspätungsbestätigung nach, denn sie zeigt die Verspätung.

Because the verb is nachreichen, which is a separable verb.

• Full infinitive: nachreichen
• In a main clause, the verb splits:
  • Wir reichen ... nach.

So:

• ich reiche nach
• du reichst nach
• wir reichen nach

This is very common in German with separable verbs, for example:

• ankommen → Der Zug kommt an.
• mitbringen → Ich bringe das Dokument mit.
• nachreichen → Wir reichen die Bestätigung nach.

The meaning of nachreichen is something like to submit later, to send in afterward, or to provide afterward.

Here, nachreichen means to submit something later, usually because it was missing earlier.

It is often used in formal or administrative contexts, for example when a document was not provided at first but will be sent later.

Typical examples:

• Ich reiche die Unterlagen morgen nach.
  = I’ll submit the documents tomorrow.
• Die Bescheinigung wird nachgereicht.
  = The certificate will be submitted later.

So in this sentence, it suggests that the delay confirmation is being provided after the fact, not at the first opportunity.

Verspätungsbestätigung is a compound noun made up of:

• Verspätung = delay
• Bestätigung = confirmation

So Verspätungsbestätigung literally means delay confirmation or confirmation of the delay.

German often combines nouns into one long word instead of using of like English does.

Similar examples:

• Zugticket = train ticket
• Krankenversicherung = health insurance
• Arbeitsbescheinigung = work certificate / employment certificate

The linking idea is:

• Bestätigung der Verspätung
  which becomes
• Verspätungsbestätigung

Because Bestätigung is a feminine noun, and the whole compound noun takes its gender from the last part of the compound.

• die Bestätigung
• therefore: die Verspätungsbestätigung

In German compounds, the final noun determines the gender:

• das Haus
  • die Tür → die Haustür
• der Zug
  • die Verspätung → die Zugverspätung
• die Verspätung
  • die Bestätigung → die Verspätungsbestätigung

So even though Verspätung is also feminine, what really matters is that the last noun is Bestätigung, which is feminine.

Yes. It is the direct object of nachreichen, so it is in the accusative case.

The sentence structure is:

• Wir = subject
• reichen nach = verb
• die Verspätungsbestätigung = direct object

For feminine singular nouns, the article is:

• nominative: die
• accusative: die

So the form does not change here, even though the case is accusative.

Compare with masculine:

• nominative: der Zug
• accusative: den Zug

That is why it may be harder to notice the accusative here: feminine singular die looks the same in nominative and accusative.

Denn means because here.

It introduces a reason:

• Wir reichen die Verspätungsbestätigung nach, denn sie zeigt die Verspätung. = We are submitting the delay confirmation afterward, because it shows the delay.

A key grammar point:

• denn is a coordinating conjunction
• it does not send the verb to the end

So the clause after denn keeps normal main-clause word order:

• denn sie zeigt die Verspätung

Compare that with weil:

• ..., weil sie die Verspätung zeigt.

Both can mean because, but the grammar is different.

Both can mean because, but they behave differently.

1. denn

• coordinating conjunction
• word order stays like a normal main clause

Example:

• ..., denn sie zeigt die Verspätung.

2. weil

• subordinating conjunction
• the verb goes to the end

Example:

• ..., weil sie die Verspätung zeigt.

In many contexts, both are possible. The choice often depends on style:

• denn can sound a bit more written or explanatory
• weil is very common in everyday German

So this sentence could also be:

• Wir reichen die Verspätungsbestätigung nach, weil sie die Verspätung zeigt.

Most naturally, sie refers to die Verspätungsbestätigung.

Why?

• sie can mean she, they, or it for a feminine noun
• Verspätungsbestätigung is feminine: die Verspätungsbestätigung
• so it can be referred to as sie

So:

• die Verspätungsbestätigung → sie

In English, we would usually say it, but in German nouns have grammatical gender, so a feminine noun is referred to with sie.

Grammatically, yes, because Verspätung is also feminine:

• die Verspätung
• pronoun: sie

So purely by grammar, sie could refer to either:

• die Verspätungsbestätigung
• die Verspätung

But in context, the intended meaning is almost certainly the confirmation, because a confirmation is something that can show or document a delay.

This is a good example of how German pronouns can sometimes be technically ambiguous, and context tells you what is meant.

Because the subject of the second clause is sie, and here sie is singular.

• sie = die Verspätungsbestätigung
• die Verspätungsbestätigung is singular
• therefore the verb is singular: zeigt

Compare:

• Die Bestätigung zeigt die Verspätung.
• Die Bestätigungen zeigen die Verspätung.

This can be confusing because sie can also mean they, but here it means it referring to a feminine singular noun.

Because German pronouns follow grammatical gender, not natural gender in the same way English does.

English:

• the confirmation → it

German:

• die Bestätigung is feminine
• so it becomes sie

Examples:

• die Tasche → sie
• der Zug → er
• das Ticket → es

So even inanimate things can be er, sie, or es depending on the noun’s grammatical gender.

Repeating die Verspätung makes the sentence clearer.

If the sentence said something like:

• ..., denn sie zeigt sie.

that would be very unclear, because both nouns are feminine and both could be replaced by sie.

By repeating die Verspätung, German avoids ambiguity and makes it easier to understand:

• sie = the confirmation
• die Verspätung = the delay

This kind of repetition is often more natural in German than stacking multiple pronouns that could be confusing.

It works, but depending on context, other verbs may sound more precise.

• zeigen = show
• belegen = prove / document / substantiate
• bestätigen = confirm
• nachweisen = demonstrate / provide proof of

In administrative or official contexts, Germans might also say:

• ..., denn sie belegt die Verspätung.
• ..., denn sie bestätigt die Verspätung.

But zeigt is perfectly understandable and straightforward.

Yes, it sounds fairly formal or administrative, mainly because of:

• nachreichen
• Verspätungsbestätigung

This is the kind of language you might see in:

• customer service
• reimbursement requests
• train delay documentation
• office or official communication

In more everyday speech, someone might say something simpler, depending on the situation, for example:

• Wir schicken die Bestätigung später nach.
• Wir reichen die Bestätigung später ein.

But the original sentence is natural in a formal context.

The sentence has two main clauses joined by denn:

First clause

Wir reichen die Verspätungsbestätigung nach.

Structure:

• Wir = subject
• reichen = conjugated verb in position 2
• die Verspätungsbestätigung = object
• nach = separated prefix at the end

Second clause

denn sie zeigt die Verspätung.

Structure:

• denn = coordinating conjunction
• sie = subject
• zeigt = verb
• die Verspätung = object

So the sentence shows two useful German patterns at once:

1. a separable verb in a main clause
2. a denn clause with normal word order