Note
He is sitting down. (direction >accusative) The table is standing in the corner (location>dative)It would be a different case if we said:
He sits down in the corner.
In this case we would have a movement into the corner. >Accusative
Er setzt sich in die Ecke.
Breakdown of Er setzt sich an einen kleinen Tisch in der Ecke.
klein
small
er
he
in
in
ein
a, an
sich setzen
to sit down
important: this is a movement towards a direction (down) you are standing and moving into a sitting position.
die Ecke
the corner
der Tisch
the table
an
on; to; at
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