Klassen sidder stille og lytter til musikken.

The class sits quietly and listens to the music.

Breakdown of Klassen sidder stille og lytter til musikken.

• og: and
• sidde: to sit
• til: to
• musikken: the music
• stille: quiet
• lytte: to listen
• klassen: the class

Questions & Answers about Klassen sidder stille og lytter til musikken.

Why do we use sidder and not something like sidderne?

In Danish, sidder is the present tense form of the verb sidde (to sit) for all persons except the plural ending in older or more dialectal forms. You wouldn’t add -ne here because that would be perceived as an older/dialectal plural marker or as a definite plural form, which is not correct for the present tense.

How come stille is used instead of another adverb like roligt?

Stille in Danish conveys the idea of “quietly” or “silently,” focusing on the absence of noise or movement. Roligt means “calmly,” which can imply a slightly different nuance — not necessarily silent, but free from agitation. Here, stille is emphasizing that they are seated silently, not making noise.

Does klassen take a singular or plural verb in Danish?

Klassen (the class) is treated as a singular collective noun. In Danish, it therefore takes the singular form of the verb sidder, meaning “the class sits.” Even though a class is made up of many people, the word klassen itself is singular.

Why do we have lytter til musikken and not just lytter musikken?

The verb lytte (to listen) typically goes with the preposition til in Danish when followed by an object, meaning you listen to something. In this sentence, the object is musikken, so the phrase becomes lytter til musikken (listen to the music).