Im Quark sind heute Trauben und Kirschen, deshalb schmeckt er süß.

Im is the contraction of in dem.

• der Quark is a masculine noun.
• After in when you are talking about a location rather than movement, German uses the dative case.
• So:
  • der Quark → nominative
  • dem Quark → dative
  • in dem Quark → contracted to im Quark

So Im Quark means in the quark / in the quark dish.

Because the subject of the first clause is Trauben und Kirschen.

German works the same way as English here:

• Trauben und Kirschen = grapes and cherries
• That is a plural subject
• So the verb must also be plural: sind

Even though Im Quark comes first, it is not the subject. It is just a location phrase.

German word order is flexible, but the finite verb usually stays in second position in a main clause.

In the clause:

Im Quark sind heute Trauben und Kirschen

the order is:

1. Im Quark — first element
2. sind — verb in second position
3. heute — time expression
4. Trauben und Kirschen — subject

So heute is not in a fixed English-style position. It comes after the verb because the verb must stay second.

You could also hear slightly different word orders depending on emphasis, for example:

• Heute sind im Quark Trauben und Kirschen.

That would put more emphasis on today.

German often leaves out articles when talking about things in a general or indefinite way, especially in lists of ingredients or contents.

So:

• Trauben und Kirschen = grapes and cherries

This sounds natural when you mean that those fruits are in it, without stressing the grapes or some grapes.

If you added articles, the meaning would become more specific:

• die Trauben und die Kirschen = the grapes and the cherries
• Trauben und Kirschen = just the fruits as ingredients/content

Because deshalb counts as the first element of the clause, so the finite verb must come next.

German main clauses follow the verb-second rule:

• Deshalb = position 1
• schmeckt = position 2
• er = comes after the verb

So the correct order is:

deshalb schmeckt er süß

This is one of the most important word-order patterns in German.

Compare:

• Er schmeckt süß.
• Deshalb schmeckt er süß.
• Heute schmeckt er süß.

Whenever something else is moved to the front, the verb still stays second.

Because pronouns in German follow the grammatical gender of the noun, not natural gender.

• der Quark is masculine
• So it is referred to as er

That means:

• der Quark → er
• die Suppe → sie
• das Brot → es

Even though quark is a thing, not a male person, German still uses er because the noun is grammatically masculine.

Because in the second clause, the subject is not Trauben und Kirschen anymore. The subject is er, referring back to Quark.

So the second clause means:

• deshalb schmeckt er süß
• therefore it tastes sweet

Since er is singular, the verb is singular too:

• er schmeckt
• not er schmecken

Because süß is being used as an adjective after a verb, not directly before a noun.

After verbs like:

• sein = to be
• werden = to become
• bleiben = to stay
• schmecken = to taste

the adjective normally stays in its basic form:

• Er ist süß.
• Es wird kalt.
• Die Suppe schmeckt gut.

So:

• süßer Quark = adjective before a noun, with ending
• Der Quark schmeckt süß = adjective after a verb, no ending

Because the sentence contains two main clauses:

1. Im Quark sind heute Trauben und Kirschen
2. deshalb schmeckt er süß

In German, two main clauses are often separated by a comma, especially when the second one begins with a linking word like deshalb.

So the comma helps mark the break between:

• the statement
• the result/consequence

Not exactly. Deshalb is better thought of as an adverb or connector, not a subordinating conjunction.

That matters because it affects word order differently.

• deshalb keeps normal main-clause word order, with the verb in second position:

  • Deshalb schmeckt er süß.

• weil introduces a subordinate clause, so the verb goes to the end:

  • ..., weil er süß schmeckt.

So both can express cause/result, but they behave differently in grammar.

Yes. German time words are fairly movable, depending on what you want to emphasize.

For example:

• Im Quark sind heute Trauben und Kirschen.
• Heute sind im Quark Trauben und Kirschen.

Both are grammatical, but the focus changes a little:

• Im Quark ... heute ... puts the quark first
• Heute ... puts the time first

German often lets you move elements to the front for emphasis, as long as the verb stays in second position in a main clause.