Breakdown of Trägst du den Rucksack?
du
you (informal singular)
der Rucksack
the backpack
tragen
to carry, to wear
Questions & Answers about Trägst du den Rucksack?
Why is it trägst with an ä instead of an a?
The base verb is tragen (to carry). It is a strong verb that changes its vowel in the du (you) and er/sie/es (he/she/it) forms. The a gets an umlaut and becomes an ä, so you say du trägst instead of du tragst.
Why do we say den Rucksack instead of der Rucksack?
Rucksack is a masculine noun. In this sentence, it is the direct object being carried, so it is in the accusative case. For masculine nouns, the word for the changes from der to den in the accusative case.
Does tragen only mean to carry?
No, tragen is also used to mean to wear when talking about clothing. Depending on context, Trägst du... can mean either Are you carrying... or Are you wearing...
Why is there no word for Are or do in the German sentence?
German does not use helper words like are or do to make questions. Instead, you simply swap the subject and the verb. You carry is Du trägst, and to ask Are you carrying? or Do you carry?, you just flip it to Trägst du.
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