Grammar fix
traffic jam
congested road
A situation where vehicles are moving very slowly or not at all because there are too many on the road.
collocationB1common
Hear it in context
Notice where the phrase sounds natural.
I was late for work because I got stuck in a traffic jam on the highway.
In my city, traffic jams are common during rush hour, which makes commuting to work very stressful.
Fix the pattern
One small grammar move makes it sound right.
Not: There was a big traffic on the road.
Say: There was a lot of traffic / a traffic jam.
'Traffic' is uncountable (not 'a traffic'); the countable phrase is 'a traffic jam'.
Which sounds natural?
Tap the one a native speaker would say.
Natural; 'vehicular congestion' is traffic-report jargon.
Build natural chunks
Words that usually travel with it.
stuck in a traffic jam
- stuck in
- caught in
- huge
- rush-hour