Dippen står ved kartoffelsalaten.

Because Danish usually shows the by adding it to the end of the noun instead of putting it in front.

So:

• en dip = a dip
• dippen = the dip
• en kartoffelsalat = a potato salad
• kartoffelsalaten = the potato salad

This is one of the first big differences English speakers notice in Danish.

Because Danish often doubles the final consonant when a word with a short vowel gets an ending added.

So dip becomes dippen, just like:

• kop → koppen
• kat → katten

The doubled p helps show that the vowel stays short.

It is normally an en word: en dip.

That is why the definite form is dippen. If it were an et word, the definite form would look different.

Kartoffelsalat is also an en word: en kartoffelsalat, kartoffelsalaten.

Because Danish, like German, commonly builds compound nouns as a single word.

Here the base noun is:

• kartoffel = potato
• salat = salad
• kartoffelsalat = potato salad

Then the definite ending is added:

• kartoffelsalaten = the potato salad

A useful rule: in Danish compounds, the last part is usually the main noun. So kartoffelsalat is a kind of salat, and that is also why it has the gender of salat.

Here ved means something like by, next to, or near.

It shows location: the dip is positioned close to the potato salad.

It does not necessarily mean the two things are touching. It usually just means they are very near each other.

Danish often prefers a position verb where English might simply use is.

Here står literally means stands, but in natural Danish it is also used for things that are standing or placed somewhere, especially containers, bottles, bowls, jars, and similar objects.

So if the dip is in a bowl or container on a table, står sounds very natural.

English often says:

• The dip is by the potato salad

But Danish often chooses:

• Dippen står ved kartoffelsalaten

If the object were lying flat, Danish might use ligger instead.

Yes. This is a normal Danish main clause:

• Dippen = subject
• står = finite verb
• ved kartoffelsalaten = place expression

Danish main clauses follow the verb-second pattern, which means the finite verb normally comes in the second position.

Since the subject comes first here, the sentence looks very straightforward.

If you moved the place expression to the front, the verb would still stay second:

• Ved kartoffelsalaten står dippen.

That inversion is very typical in Danish.

It is a loanword from English, but it is very commonly used in Danish and behaves like a normal Danish noun.

That means it takes Danish grammar and endings:

• en dip
• dippen
• dipper (plural, depending on context)
• dipperne

So even though the word originally comes from English, in this sentence it is functioning as an ordinary Danish noun.