Han sidder ved sit bord.

the table

Breakdown of Han sidder ved sit bord.

• sidde: to sit
• han: he
• ved: at
• sit: its own

Questions & Answers about Han sidder ved sit bord.

In English we say “He is sitting at his table.” Why doesn’t the Danish sentence use er (is), like “Han er sidder …”?

In Danish you normally don’t use er as an auxiliary to form a separate “-ing” tense the way English does.

• Han sidder ved sit bord.
  literally: He sits at his table,
  but it usually means: He is sitting at his table (right now).

Key points:

• You cannot say Han er sidder ved sit bord. That is ungrammatical.
• The simple present in Danish (sidder) can express:
  • a general fact: Han sidder altid ved sit bord. – He always sits at his table.
  • something happening right now: Han sidder ved sit bord. – He is sitting at his table (now).

If you really want to emphasize “right now”, you typically add an adverb:

• Han sidder lige nu ved sit bord. – He is sitting at his table right now.

So the single verb sidder already covers what English needs “is sitting” for.

What exactly does sidder mean here – is it an action (“sits down”) or a state (“is sitting”)?

In Han sidder ved sit bord, sidder describes a state: he is in a sitting position.

Rough guide:

• sidder = is sitting / is seated (focus on the state)
  • Han sidder ved sit bord. – He is sitting at his table.
• sætter sig (ned) = sits down (focus on the movement into that position)
  • Han sætter sig ved sit bord. – He sits down at his table.
• sidder ned is also used, but often sounds more like “be in a sitting position (as opposed to standing)” rather than the motion of sitting down. For “sit down”, sætter sig (ned) is the more standard choice.

So in your sentence, sidder tells us he is already sitting at his table.

Why is the preposition ved used with bord instead of på or something else?

With tables and desks in Danish, the usual preposition for “at” is ved.

• ved = at / by / next to (in contact or very close, often to use the thing)
  • Han sidder ved sit bord. – He is sitting at his table (working, eating, etc.)

Compare:

• på = on (on top of a surface)
  • Bogen ligger på bordet. – The book is lying on the table.
  • Han sidder på en stol. – He is sitting on a chair.
• ved siden af = next to / beside (not necessarily using it)
  • Han står ved siden af bordet. – He is standing next to the table.

So:

• ved bordet/sit bord = at the table, where you use it (for eating, working, etc.)
• på bordet = on top of the table (usually objects, not people)
• ved siden af bordet = beside the table, but not “seated at” it.

Why is it sit bord and not hans bord?

sit is the reflexive possessive and refers back to the subject han in the same clause. It means “his own”.

• Han sidder ved sit bord.
  = He is sitting at his own table.

If you use hans, it normally refers to another male person, not the subject:

• Han sidder ved hans bord.
  ≈ He is sitting at his table (someone else’s table – another man’s).

So:

• Use sin/sit/sine when the thing belongs to the subject of that clause.
• Use hans/hendes/deres when it belongs to someone else (or when there is no clear subject to refer back to).

How do I know when to use sin, sit or sine?

They all mean roughly “his/her/their (own)”, but they agree with the noun they modify, not with the subject.

• sin – with a common gender singular noun (en-word)
  • Han elsker sin hund. – He loves his (own) dog. (hund = en hund)
• sit – with a neuter singular noun (et-word)
  • Han sidder ved sit bord. – He sits at his (own) table. (bord = et bord)
• sine – with a plural noun
  • Han læser sine bøger. – He is reading his (own) books.

Important:

• They refer back to a 3rd‑person subject (han, hun, de, etc.) in the same clause.
• For I / you, you don’t use these forms:
  • Jeg sidder ved mit bord. – I am sitting at my table.
  • Du sidder ved dit bord. – You are sitting at your table.

Why is there no article or definite ending on bord? Why not “sit bordet”?

In Danish, when you use a possessive (min, din, hans, sin, osv.), you do not add:

• an indefinite article (en/et), or
• the definite suffix (-en/-et/-n/-t)

So you say:

• sit bord – his (own) table
  not sit et bord and not sit bordet.

Compare:

• bord – a / one table
• bordet – the table
• sit bord – his (own) table

This “no article + no definite ending with a possessive” is the regular pattern:

• mit hus (my house), not mit huset
• hans bil (his car), not hans bilen

Can I also say “Han sidder ved bordet”? What’s the difference from “ved sit bord”?

Yes, Han sidder ved bordet is perfectly correct. The nuance is:

• Han sidder ved sit bord.
  Emphasizes that the table is his (own).
• Han sidder ved bordet.
  Means “He is sitting at the table”, referring to some specific table already known in the context.
  It might be his, or it might just be the table in the room/scene; ownership is not expressed.
• Han sidder ved et bord.
  Means He is sitting at a table (one table, not specified which one).

So if the important point is that it’s his personal table/desk (e.g., in an office or classroom), ved sit bord is the clearest.

Does sit agree with han (the person) or with bord (the noun)?

sit agrees with the noun it belongs to, not with the person.

• bord is a neuter noun (et bord), so you must use sit:
  • Han sidder ved sit bord.
• If the noun were common gender (en‑word), you’d use sin:
  • Han sidder på sin stol. – He is sitting on his (own) chair. (stol = en stol)
• If the noun is plural, you use sine:
  • Han sidder på sine stole. – He is sitting on his (own) chairs. (odd, but grammatically fine)

This stays the same regardless of whether the subject is han (he) or hun (she):

• Hun sidder ved sit bord. – She is sitting at her (own) table.

Is the word order fixed, or can I move ved sit bord?

The neutral, most common word order is:

• Han sidder ved sit bord.
  Subject – Verb – (rest of the sentence)

Danish main clauses follow V2 word order: the finite verb must be in the second position.

You can move ved sit bord to the front for emphasis or a more literary style, but the verb still has to stay second:

• Ved sit bord sidder han. – At his table sits he.

What you cannot do in normal Danish is:

• Han ved sit bord sidder. ✗ (verb is not in second position)

So you can move the phrase, but always keep the verb as the second element in the main clause.

How do you pronounce “Han sidder ved sit bord”?

Very roughly, in Danish it sounds like:

[han ˈseðɐ veð sit boːɐ̯]

Approximate English-like description:

• Han – like English “han” but short; often a bit like “hen”.
• sidder – roughly “SEH-thuh”:
  • i like in sit but a bit longer,
  • dd is a soft d, similar to the th in “this” (but usually weaker),
  • -er is a schwa sound, like the -er in unstressed “baker”.
• ved – roughly “veh” with a soft d at the end, again similar to a soft “th” in “this” but very light.
• sit – like English “sit”, short and clear.
• bord – approximately “bohr”, with:
  • long o like in “bore”,
  • the r colouring the vowel,
  • the final d is silent.

Danish also uses a special glottal “creaky” feature called stød on some words (including bord in many accents), but learners are usually understood even without it.