Word
Das Kind schläft an der Brust der Mutter.
Meaning
The child is sleeping at its mother's chest.
Part of speech
sentence
Pronunciation
Course
Lesson
Breakdown of Das Kind schläft an der Brust der Mutter.
das Kind
the child
schlafen
to sleep
die Mutter
the mother
an
at, on (vertical) / to (addressee) / of (in quantity/stock expressions)
Questions & Answers about Das Kind schläft an der Brust der Mutter.
Why is it an der Brust and not an die Brust?
The preposition an is a two-way preposition. Because the child is resting in a fixed location and not moving towards it, it answers the question "where?" (location) rather than "where to?" (direction). Therefore, it takes the dative case, changing the feminine article die to der.
Why use an here instead of auf to mean "on/at the chest"?
auf generally means on top of a horizontal surface (like a book on a table). an is used for vertical surfaces, edges, or being right up against something. Since the child is resting against the front of the mother's body, an is the most natural fit.
Why is the article der used before Mutter, which is a feminine noun?
This is the genitive case, which is used to show possession ("of the mother"). In the genitive case, the feminine definite article die changes to der.
The English translation says "its mother's", but the German just says der Mutter ("the mother's"). Why is there no possessive pronoun?
In German, you often don't need a possessive pronoun (like seiner for "its") when the context makes it obvious whose body part or family member is being talked about. The literal phrasing "at the chest of the mother" sounds perfectly natural in German to express this.