Ich hatte Kopfschmerzen, daraufhin habe ich eine Pause gemacht.

I had a headache, and as a result I took a break.

Breakdown of Ich hatte Kopfschmerzen, daraufhin habe ich eine Pause gemacht.

• ich: I
• haben: to have
• der Kopfschmerz: the headache
• daraufhin: as a result
• eine Pause machen: to take a break

Questions & Answers about Ich hatte Kopfschmerzen, daraufhin habe ich eine Pause gemacht.

Why is it hatte Kopfschmerzen and not habe Kopfschmerzen?

Ich hatte Kopfschmerzen is in the simple past (Präteritum) and describes something that was true at some point in the past but is understood as finished now.

• Ich hatte Kopfschmerzen. = I had a headache / I had headaches (earlier; it’s over now).
• Ich habe Kopfschmerzen. = I have a headache (right now).

In narratives and written German, the simple past with haben (ich hatte) is very normal. In everyday spoken German you would also commonly hear:

• Ich hatte Kopfschmerzen, deshalb habe ich eine Pause gemacht.
• Or even: Ich hab Kopfschmerzen gehabt. (perfect tense, colloquial)

The key point: hatte clearly places the headache in the past, matching the later action habe ich eine Pause gemacht.

Why is Kopfschmerzen plural in German when English says “a headache” (singular)?

In German, the word for “pain” is very often used in the plural, especially for body parts:

• die Schmerzen = pains
• Kopfschmerzen = literally “head pains”

So Germans usually say:

• Ich habe Kopfschmerzen. = I have a headache / head pain.

Using the singular Kopfschmerz is possible but sounds very formal, technical, or medical and is not what people say in everyday language.

Alternative natural expressions for “I have a headache” are:

• Mir tut der Kopf weh. (literally: “To me, the head hurts.”)
• Ich habe Kopfweh. (colloquial in some regions)

So: plural Kopfschmerzen is the normal, idiomatic way to say “headache.”

What exactly does daraufhin mean, and how is it different from dann, deshalb, or danach?

daraufhin is an adverb that links a result to a previous event. It combines time and causality:

• daraufhin ≈ as a consequence of that, as a result of that, following that (and because of it)

In the sentence:

• Ich hatte Kopfschmerzen, daraufhin habe ich eine Pause gemacht.
  = I had a headache, so I took a break (because of that).

Comparison:

• dann = then, after that (mostly time, weak/neutral about cause)
• danach = after that (purely temporal sequence)
• deshalb / deswegen / darum = therefore, that’s why (clear cause, less about “after”)

So:

• Ich hatte Kopfschmerzen, dann habe ich eine Pause gemacht.
  → Just “then/after that” (sequence, cause is implied but weaker).
• Ich hatte Kopfschmerzen, deshalb habe ich eine Pause gemacht.
  → Clearly: headache is the reason.
• Ich hatte Kopfschmerzen, daraufhin habe ich eine Pause gemacht.
  → Emphasizes: the break is a reaction to the headache, following it in time and caused by it.

daraufhin is a bit more formal / written style than deshalb.

Why is it daraufhin habe ich and not daraufhin ich habe after the comma?

German main clauses follow the verb-second rule: the conjugated verb must be in the second position in the clause.

In the second clause:

• daraufhin = first element (position 1)
• habe (the conjugated verb) = second element (position 2)
• ich (the subject) = third element

So we get:

• … daraufhin habe ich eine Pause gemacht. ✅
• … daraufhin ich habe eine Pause gemacht. ❌ (verb is not in second position)

You could also put the subject first and the adverb later:

• … ich habe daraufhin eine Pause gemacht.

Both are correct; the difference is in emphasis and style. Putting daraufhin first (“fronting”) makes the causal link more prominent and sounds more written/formal.

Why is there just a comma between the clauses and not something like und or denn?

In German, it is normal to connect two independent main clauses with just a comma, especially if a linking adverb like daraufhin is used in the second clause:

• Ich hatte Kopfschmerzen, daraufhin habe ich eine Pause gemacht.

Here, daraufhin plays the role that in English might be expressed by “so,” “therefore,” or “as a result,” and the comma is enough to show the boundary between the two clauses.

You could also use a conjunction:

• Ich hatte Kopfschmerzen, deshalb habe ich eine Pause gemacht.
• Ich hatte Kopfschmerzen, und daraufhin habe ich eine Pause gemacht. (possible, but und is not necessary)

But with adverbs like daraufhin, deshalb, trotzdem, etc., German very often just uses a comma between the two main clauses.

Why is it eine Pause gemacht and not something like eine Pause genommen or another verb?

German typically uses eine Pause machen to mean “to take a break”:

• eine Pause machen = to take a break (standard, very common)

Other options exist, but they are less common or have a different nuance:

• eine Pause einlegen
  → also “to take a break,” a bit more formal or technical (e.g., in schedules, driving regulations).
• eine Pause nehmen
  → understandable, but less idiomatic than eine Pause machen in many contexts; used, but not as default.

So Ich habe eine Pause gemacht is the most natural everyday way to say “I took a break.”

Could I say Ich machte eine Pause instead of ich habe eine Pause gemacht?

Yes, grammatically that’s correct:

• Ich machte eine Pause. = simple past (Präteritum)
• Ich habe eine Pause gemacht. = present perfect (Perfekt)

Both describe a past action. The difference is mostly stylistic and regional:

• In spoken German, the Perfekt (habe gemacht) is much more common for most verbs.
• In written stories, reports, or formal texts, the Präteritum (machte) is often preferred.

So you could write:

• Ich hatte Kopfschmerzen, daraufhin machte ich eine Pause.

That sounds quite written/literary.
For everyday speech, … daraufhin habe ich eine Pause gemacht is more natural.

Why is there no article in Kopfschmerzen, but there is one in eine Pause?

Two different things are happening:

1. Kopfschmerzen is plural

   • In German, an indefinite plural noun usually has no article:
     
     • Ich habe Kopfschmerzen. (no article)
     • Ich habe Bücher. = I have books.
       If you wanted a definite article, you would say:
   • Ich habe die Kopfschmerzen. (sounds odd here; would refer to specific known pains)

2. Pause is singular and countable

   • When you mean “one break, not a specific known one,” you use the indefinite article eine:
     
     • Ich mache eine Pause. = I’m taking a (one) break.

So:

• No article for indefinite plural Kopfschmerzen.
• Indefinite article eine for a single, countable Pause.

Can I replace daraufhin with deshalb in this sentence, and is there any difference?

Yes, you can replace it:

• Ich hatte Kopfschmerzen, deshalb habe ich eine Pause gemacht.

Both daraufhin and deshalb indicate that the second action happens because of the first. The nuance:

• deshalb → clearly and directly “because of that / that’s why” (focus on reason)
• daraufhin → “following that (event), as a reaction to it” (mix of time + cause, a bit more formal)

In many everyday contexts, deshalb is more common and sounds more neutral. daraufhin often appears in written reports, narratives, or more formal descriptions of sequences of events.

Could I also say Ich habe daraufhin eine Pause gemacht instead of daraufhin habe ich eine Pause gemacht?

Yes. Both are correct:

• Ich hatte Kopfschmerzen, daraufhin habe ich eine Pause gemacht.
  → The adverb daraufhin is in the first position of the second clause, so the verb (habe) comes second and the subject (ich) third.

• Ich hatte Kopfschmerzen, ich habe daraufhin eine Pause gemacht.
  → The subject ich is first, verb habe second, daraufhin later in the middle field.

Differences:

• daraufhin habe ich …
  → Slightly more formal, emphasizes the consequence by putting daraufhin first.
• ich habe daraufhin …
  → More neutral word order; what you might say in everyday speech.

Both are fine; it’s mostly about style and emphasis.