Из-за пробки я пришёл позже.

Because of the traffic jam, I arrived later.

Breakdown of Из-за пробки я пришёл позже.

• я: I
• прийти: to arrive
• позже: later
• из-за: because of
• пробка: the traffic jam

Questions & Answers about Из-за пробки я пришёл позже.

Which case does из-за require?

Из-за governs the genitive. Here пробки is the genitive singular of пробка. Other examples: из-за дождя, из-за ремонта. In plural you’d say из-за пробок (note the correct genitive plural is пробок, not пробков).

Why is из-за written with a hyphen?

It’s a fixed compound preposition made from из + за, and in modern spelling it must have a hyphen: из-за. Don’t write it as two words (из за) or as one word (иза).

Does из-за always mean “because of”?

No. Из-за has two main uses:

• Cause: из-за пробки (because of a traffic jam).
• Motion from behind something: из-за угла (from behind the corner). In this sentence it’s clearly causal.

Given we’re talking about a traffic jam, should it be приехал instead of пришёл?

Often yes. Пришёл is “came (on foot)”, while приехал is “arrived (by vehicle)”. Because a traffic jam is about vehicles, many speakers would naturally say Я приехал позже из-за пробки. Grammatically, пришёл is fine, but приехал usually fits the context better.

How does the verb change for gender and number?

Past-tense forms agree in gender/number:

• Masculine: я пришёл / приехал
• Feminine: я пришла / приехала
• Neuter (things): оно пришло / приехало
• Plural: мы пришли / приехали

Why is the perfective past пришёл used and not приходил?

Пришёл (perfective) presents a single, completed arrival. Приходил (imperfective) often implies a repeated action or a visit you came and then left, so it would be odd here. Talking about arriving later than expected naturally uses the perfective.

What’s the difference between я пришёл позже and я опоздал?

• Я опоздал = I was late (missed a deadline/appointment time).
• Я пришёл позже = I arrived later (than someone/than planned), but not necessarily “late” in the sense of missing a set time. If you mean lateness to a scheduled event, use опоздал.

How do позже, поздно, позднее, and попозже differ?

• позже: later (comparative of time), as in the sentence.
• поздно: late (absolute), e.g., я пришёл поздно (I came late).
• позднее: later/afterward; a bit more formal or written.
• попозже: a bit later, somewhat later (colloquial nuance).

Can I change the word order?

Yes. Common options:

• Из-за пробки я пришёл позже (fronted cause; neutral and natural).
• Я пришёл позже из-за пробки (neutral; equally natural).
• Я из-за пробки пришёл позже (possible, but can sound more marked/emphatic).

Do I need a comma after the initial phrase?

No. Short adverbial prepositional phrases like Из-за пробки are not separated by a comma. You would use a comma if you changed it to a clause: … , потому что была пробка.

Can I omit я?

You can, but it becomes ambiguous, because пришёл also matches “he” in form. Пришёл позже could be understood as “He came later.” Keep я for clarity unless context already makes it obvious.

What does пробка mean here, and why is it пробки?

Пробка can mean a bottle cork, a plug, or a traffic jam. Here it’s “traffic jam.” Пробки is the genitive singular required by из-за. If you mean multiple jams or traffic in general, use genitive plural: из-за пробок.

Any quick pronunciation tips for this sentence?

• из-за: say “iz-za” with a long z (the z is doubled).
• пробки: “prób-ki”; the b is devoiced before k (sounds like p).
• пришёл: “prish-YOL”; stress on -шёл; ё sounds like “yo”.
• позже: “PO-zhzhe”; the z+zh merges into a long zh sound.

Why is it пришёл with ё? Can I write пришел?

The correct spelling is пришёл. In print, the dots on ё are often omitted (you’ll see пришел), but it’s still pronounced “prishyol.” The misspelling пришол is wrong.

Is из-за only for negative reasons?

It typically introduces an undesirable cause (bad weather, delays, problems). For positive reasons, Russians often prefer благодаря (thanks to): Я приехал вовремя благодаря мало́му трафику. You can use из-за for neutral causes too, depending on context.

What’s the difference between из-за пробки and в пробке?

• из-за пробки = because of a traffic jam (cause).
• в пробке = in a traffic jam (state/location), e.g., Я застрял в пробке (I got stuck in a jam).

Is it more natural to say singular or plural for “traffic jam” here?

Both occur. Из-за пробки (because of a [specific] jam) and из-за пробок (because of [the] traffic/traffic jams in general). In many cities, people often say the plural when speaking about traffic conditions.

How can I say “later than you” with this sentence?

Use a comparison:

• Я пришёл позже, чем ты.
• Colloquial alternative: Я пришёл позже тебя.

How would I rephrase it with потому что?

Я пришёл позже, потому что была пробка. Use потому что to introduce a full clause; use из-за when followed by a noun phrase.