Jeg lægger tøjet på sengen.

I put the clothes on the bed.

Breakdown of Jeg lægger tøjet på sengen.

• jeg: I
• på: on
• tøjet: the clothes
• lægge: to put
• sengen: the bed

Questions & Answers about Jeg lægger tøjet på sengen.

What does lægger mean, and why is it used instead of ligger?

In Danish, lægger means “to place” something somewhere, whereas ligger means “to lie” in a location. In this sentence, lægger is the correct choice because the speaker is actively placing the clothes on the bed, not just describing their location.

Why is the verb lægger ending in -r?

Danish verbs typically add -r in the present tense, regardless of person or number. So both “I lay,” “she lays,” and “they lay” translate to lægger in the present tense.

Why is tøjet in the definite form instead of an indefinite form like tøj?

In Danish, tøjet is the definite form of tøj (meaning “clothes”). It’s used here because the speaker is referring to specific clothes (implicitly understood or mentioned elsewhere). If they just meant “clothes” in general, they would say tøj without the definite ending -et.

What does på sengen translate to in English, and can it be replaced with other prepositions?

På sengen often translates as “on the bed” in English. You could use i sengen (“in the bed”) instead, but that would imply placing the clothes under the covers or inside the bed. På is correct if you want to say the clothes are placed on top of the bed.

Is je or jeg ever shortened in Danish speech like “I’m” in English?

Not typically. Jeg may be slightly reduced in casual speech (sometimes sounding like “ya”), but there isn’t a widely accepted contracted form like “I’m” in English. It usually appears in full as jeg.