diff --git a/docs/docs/addition_subtraction.md b/docs/docs/addition_subtraction.md
index 32cb875d0..de916b48e 100644
--- a/docs/docs/addition_subtraction.md
+++ b/docs/docs/addition_subtraction.md
@@ -4,6 +4,12 @@ To easily add and subtract time, you can use the `add()` and `subtract()`
 methods.
 Each method returns a new `DateTime` instance.
 
+For timezone-aware datetimes, years, months, weeks and days shift the local
+date and time, while hours, minutes, seconds and microseconds change elapsed
+time. When both kinds of units are passed in one call, the calendar shift is
+applied and normalized first, followed by the elapsed-time shift on the UTC
+timeline. This ordering applies to both `add()` and `subtract()`.
+
 ```python
 >>> import pendulum
 
@@ -85,3 +91,22 @@ Each method returns a new `DateTime` instance.
 
     Passing negative values to `add()` is also possible and will act exactly
     like `subtract()`
+
+For example, subtracting one calendar day and then one second across a
+spring-forward transition:
+
+```python
+>>> dt = pendulum.datetime(2024, 4, 1, 4, tz='Europe/Sofia')
+>>> dt.subtract(days=1, seconds=1).isoformat()
+'2024-03-31T02:59:59+02:00'
+```
+
+The same ordering applies across a fall-back transition. The calendar shift
+first selects the normalized local time and offset, then the fixed-length shift
+uses elapsed time from that instant:
+
+```python
+>>> dt = pendulum.datetime(2024, 10, 26, 4, 30, tz='Europe/Sofia')
+>>> dt.add(days=1, hours=-1).isoformat()
+'2024-10-27T03:30:00+02:00'
+```
diff --git a/src/pendulum/datetime.py b/src/pendulum/datetime.py
index 0d7e4f9a0..63da884ce 100644
--- a/src/pendulum/datetime.py
+++ b/src/pendulum/datetime.py
@@ -570,12 +570,26 @@ def add(
         """
         Add a duration to the instance.
 
-        If we're adding units of variable length (i.e., years, months),
-        move forward from current time, otherwise move forward from utc, for accuracy
-        when moving across DST boundaries.
+        For timezone-aware datetimes, apply years, months, weeks and days
+        in local time first, then hours, minutes, seconds and microseconds
+        in UTC to handle DST boundaries accurately.
         """
         units_of_variable_length = any([years, months, weeks, days])
 
+        if (
+            units_of_variable_length
+            and self.tz is not None
+            and any([hours, minutes, seconds, microseconds])
+        ):
+            calendar_dt = self.add(years=years, months=months, weeks=weeks, days=days)
+
+            return calendar_dt.add(
+                hours=hours,
+                minutes=minutes,
+                seconds=seconds,
+                microseconds=microseconds,
+            )
+
         current_dt = datetime.datetime(
             self.year,
             self.month,
@@ -651,7 +665,7 @@ def subtract(
         microseconds: int = 0,
     ) -> Self:
         """
-        Remove duration from the instance.
+        Remove a duration, applying calendar units before fixed-length units.
         """
         return self.add(
             years=-years,
diff --git a/tests/datetime/test_add.py b/tests/datetime/test_add.py
index 409f5bd40..19617fa69 100644
--- a/tests/datetime/test_add.py
+++ b/tests/datetime/test_add.py
@@ -278,3 +278,186 @@ def test_interval_over_midnight_tz():
     new_end = start + interval
 
     assert new_end == end
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize("method, sign", [("add", 1), ("subtract", -1)])
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "tz, start, calendar_units, fixed_units, expected",
+    [
+        pytest.param(
+            "Europe/Sofia",
+            (2024, 4, 1, 4),
+            {"days": -1},
+            {"seconds": -1},
+            "2024-03-31T02:59:59+02:00",
+            id="spring-forward-gap",
+        ),
+        pytest.param(
+            "Europe/Paris",
+            (2013, 3, 24, 2, 30),
+            {"weeks": 1},
+            {"hours": 1},
+            "2013-03-31T04:30:00+02:00",
+            id="calendar-gap-normalization",
+        ),
+        pytest.param(
+            "America/New_York",
+            (2024, 2, 10, 1, 30),
+            {"months": 1},
+            {"hours": 25},
+            "2024-03-11T03:30:00-04:00",
+            id="fixed-hours-over-one-day",
+        ),
+        pytest.param(
+            "Europe/Paris",
+            (2012, 10, 27, 1, 59, 59, 999999),
+            {"years": 1},
+            {"hours": 1, "microseconds": 1},
+            "2013-10-27T02:00:00+01:00",
+            id="fall-back-forward-shift",
+        ),
+        pytest.param(
+            "Europe/Paris",
+            (2013, 11, 27, 2),
+            {"months": -1},
+            {"microseconds": -1},
+            "2013-10-27T02:59:59.999999+02:00",
+            id="fall-back-backward-shift",
+        ),
+        pytest.param(
+            "Europe/Sofia",
+            (2024, 10, 26, 4, 30),
+            {"days": 1},
+            {"hours": -1},
+            "2024-10-27T03:30:00+02:00",
+            id="fall-back-calendar-then-elapsed",
+        ),
+        pytest.param(
+            "Europe/Sofia",
+            (2024, 10, 20, 3, 30),
+            {"weeks": 1},
+            {"minutes": -60},
+            "2024-10-27T03:30:00+03:00",
+            id="ambiguous-time-fold",
+        ),
+        pytest.param(
+            "Europe/Sofia",
+            (2024, 3, 30, 4),
+            {"days": 1},
+            {"seconds": -0.5},
+            "2024-03-31T02:59:59.500000+02:00",
+            id="opposite-directions-fractional-seconds",
+        ),
+        pytest.param(
+            "America/New_York",
+            (2025, 11, 3, 0, 30),
+            {"years": -1},
+            {"hours": 2},
+            "2024-11-03T01:30:00-05:00",
+            id="negative-calendar-positive-elapsed",
+        ),
+        pytest.param(
+            "Australia/Lord_Howe",
+            (2024, 10, 7, 2, 30),
+            {"days": -1},
+            {"microseconds": -1},
+            "2024-10-06T01:59:59.999999+10:30",
+            id="half-hour-spring-forward",
+        ),
+        pytest.param(
+            "Australia/Lord_Howe",
+            (2024, 4, 14, 1),
+            {"weeks": -1},
+            {"hours": 1},
+            "2024-04-07T01:30:00+10:30",
+            id="half-hour-fall-back",
+        ),
+        pytest.param(
+            "Europe/Paris",
+            (2024, 2, 29, 1, 30),
+            {"years": 1, "months": 1, "days": 1},
+            {"hours": 2},
+            "2025-03-30T04:30:00+02:00",
+            id="multiple-calendar-units",
+        ),
+        pytest.param(
+            "Europe/Sofia",
+            (2024, 4, 1, 16),
+            {"days": -1.5},
+            {"seconds": -1},
+            "2024-03-31T02:59:59+02:00",
+            id="fractional-calendar-days",
+        ),
+        pytest.param(
+            "UTC",
+            (2024, 4, 1, 4),
+            {"days": -1},
+            {"seconds": -1},
+            "2024-03-31T03:59:59+00:00",
+            id="utc-control",
+        ),
+        pytest.param(
+            None,
+            (2024, 4, 1, 4),
+            {"days": -1},
+            {"seconds": -1},
+            "2024-03-31T03:59:59",
+            id="naive-control",
+        ),
+        pytest.param(
+            5.5,
+            (2024, 1, 31, 4),
+            {"months": 1},
+            {"seconds": -0.25, "microseconds": -1000001},
+            "2024-02-29T03:59:58.749999+05:30",
+            id="fixed-offset-month-clamping",
+        ),
+    ],
+)
+def test_mixed_arithmetic_applies_calendar_before_elapsed_time(
+    method: str,
+    sign: int,
+    tz: str | float | None,
+    start: tuple[int, ...],
+    calendar_units: dict[str, int | float],
+    fixed_units: dict[str, int | float],
+    expected: str,
+) -> None:
+    dt = pendulum.DateTime.create(*start, tz=tz)
+    calendar_args = {unit: sign * value for unit, value in calendar_units.items()}
+    fixed_args = {unit: sign * value for unit, value in fixed_units.items()}
+
+    result = getattr(dt, method)(**calendar_args, **fixed_args)
+
+    assert result.isoformat() == expected
+    assert result.tzinfo is dt.tzinfo
+
+
+@pytest.mark.parametrize(
+    "tz, expected",
+    [
+        ("Europe/Sofia", "2024-03-31T02:59:59.500000+02:00"),
+        (None, "2024-03-31T03:59:59.500000"),
+    ],
+)
+def test_mixed_arithmetic_preserves_subclass(tz: str | None, expected: str) -> None:
+    class Subclass(pendulum.DateTime):
+        pass
+
+    dt = Subclass.create(2024, 4, 1, 4, tz=tz)
+    result = dt.subtract(days=1, seconds=0.5)
+
+    assert type(result) is Subclass
+    assert result.tzinfo is dt.tzinfo
+    assert result.isoformat() == expected
+
+
+def test_naive_mixed_arithmetic_rounds_fractional_units_once() -> None:
+    dt = pendulum.naive(2024, 4, 1, 4)
+    days = 0.6 / 86_400_000_000
+    seconds = 0.0000006
+
+    result = dt.add(days=days, seconds=seconds)  # type: ignore[arg-type]
+
+    assert result.isoformat() == "2024-04-01T04:00:00.000001"
+    assert result.tzinfo is None