Breakdown of Die Frau setzt das Baby auf das Sofa.
die Frau
the woman
das Baby
the baby
das Sofa
the sofa
auf
on / to (down/up to a level)
Questions & Answers about Die Frau setzt das Baby auf das Sofa.
Why does this sentence use setzt instead of sitzt?
Setzen means "to set" or "to place someone in a sitting position". It is an action verb that takes a direct object (here, das Baby). If the baby were already sitting there resting, we would use the state verb sitzen (to sit) and say, "Das Baby sitzt auf dem Sofa."
Why is it auf das Sofa (accusative) instead of auf dem Sofa (dative)?
Auf is a two-way preposition. Because the woman is actively moving the baby to a new destination (onto the sofa), the noun following the preposition must take the accusative case (das Sofa). If the baby were already sitting there, there is no change of location, so we would use the dative case (auf dem Sofa).
Could I use 'in' instead of 'auf' here?
You could, but it changes the meaning. Auf means "on" or "on top of," which is what you do when placing someone on the flat surface of a sofa. If you used in das Sofa, it would literally sound like she is putting the baby inside the sofa cushions!
Can I combine auf and das in this sentence?
Yes! In spoken German, auf das is very often combined into the contraction aufs. Saying "Die Frau setzt das Baby aufs Sofa" is perfectly natural and correct.