Katten sidder på bordet.

the cat

Breakdown of Katten sidder på bordet.

• på: on
• bordet: the table
• sidde: to sit

Questions & Answers about Katten sidder på bordet.

Why is it Katten (with the -en ending) rather than en kat?

In Danish, the definite article is added as a suffix to the noun instead of using a separate word like “the” in English. Katten literally means “the cat.” So en kat is “a cat,” while katten is “the cat.”

Why do we say sidder and not er?

In Danish, sidder specifically indicates the act or state of sitting, similar to saying “is sitting” in English. If you use er, it could mean simply “is” and not focus on the position of sitting. Danish often uses verbs like standing, sitting, lying to describe the position rather than using is plus another verb.

Why is it på bordet instead of på et bord?

Just like with kat → katten, the word bord (meaning “table”) takes the definite suffix -et in bordet to mean “the table.” If you said på et bord, you would be saying “on a table” instead of “on the table.”

Does på always mean “on” in Danish?