Breakdown of Sie ist auf einem Auge blind.
sein
to be
auf
on / to (down/up to a level)
das Auge
the eye
blind
blind
Questions & Answers about Sie ist auf einem Auge blind.
Why does the sentence use auf instead of in for "in one eye"?
Prepositions rarely translate perfectly between English and German. In German, when describing conditions of sensory organs like being blind or deaf, the standard preposition is auf. For example, you also say taub auf einem Ohr (deaf in one ear).
Why is einem Auge in the dative case?
The preposition auf is a two-way preposition. Because being blind is a state or condition rather than a directional movement, it answers the question "where?" (wo?) instead of "where to?" (wohin?). Therefore, it triggers the dative case.
Why isn't there a possessive word here, like auf ihrem Auge?
When it is obvious whose body part is involved, German typically avoids possessive words (like ihrem). Since Sie (she) is the subject, it is already clear that it is her eye. We use einem simply to specify that it is one eye, rather than both.
Could I use the possessive dative here, since that is what the lesson is about?
No. The possessive dative is used when an action is being performed on someone's body part (like Der Arzt untersucht ihr das Auge). In this sentence, there is no action happening to anyone; the person is simply the subject experiencing a state (Sie ist...), so the possessive dative does not fit.
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