Breakdown of Die Arme verschränkt, beobachtete der Gegner das Spiel.
das Spiel
the game/match
der
who, which, that (relative pronoun; die, das)
beobachten
to observe, to watch
der Gegner
the opponent
Questions & Answers about Die Arme verschränkt, beobachtete der Gegner das Spiel.
Why is there no preposition like mit (with) before Die Arme?
This is the Absolute Accusative, a stylistic device used to describe a physical posture or accompanying circumstance. While you could say mit verschränkten Armen (with crossed arms), dropping the preposition and using the accusative case makes the sentence sound more concise and literary.
Die Arme looks the same in both nominative and accusative. How can you tell it is the accusative case here?
You are right that plural nouns like die Arme share the same definite article for both cases. We know it is accusative because this specific grammar structure always demands it. If we used a masculine noun, the case change would be visible, such as Den Kopf gesenkt (The head lowered).
Why does the verb beobachtete come immediately after the comma, before the subject der Gegner?
The entire Absolute Accusative phrase (Die Arme verschränkt) occupies the first position in the sentence. Because German requires the conjugated verb to be in position 2 in a main clause, beobachtete must come next. This triggers the usual inversion, pushing the subject (der Gegner) to position 3.
Why use the past participle verschränkt instead of the present participle verschränkend?
The past participle (verschränkt) describes a resulting, steady state: his arms were already folded and stayed that way while he watched. If you used the present participle (verschränkend), it would mean he was actively in the continuous motion of folding his arms while watching the game.