Breakdown of Sie trägt das Baby auf dem Arm.
tragen
to carry, to wear
das Baby
the baby
auf
on / to (down/up to a level)
der Arm
the arm
Questions & Answers about Sie trägt das Baby auf dem Arm.
Why does the sentence use dem Arm (the arm) instead of ihrem Arm (her arm)?
In German, when it is obvious whose body part is being talked about, you usually use a definite article (dem, der, den, das) instead of a possessive word like ihrem (her). Since it is clear she is using her own arm, auf dem Arm is the most natural way to say "on her arm".
Auf is a two-way preposition. Why is dem Arm in the dative case here?
Two-way prepositions take the dative case when they answer the question "where?" (wo?) to describe a fixed location or state. They take the accusative case for movement to a new place ("where to?"). Because the baby is resting on her arm while she holds it, there is no movement to a new location. It answers "where?", so we use the dative dem Arm.
I thought tragen meant "to wear". Can it also mean "to carry"?
Yes! The verb tragen means both "to wear" (like clothing or glasses) and "to carry" (like a baby, a box, or a bag). You rely on the context of the sentence to know which meaning is intended.
Why does trägt have an umlaut (ä)?
The infinitive is tragen, which is a strong (irregular) verb. For many strong verbs with an "a" in the stem, the "a" changes to an "ä" in the du (you) and er/sie/es (he/she/it) forms. So you say ich trage, but du trägst and sie trägt.
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