Learn Hardcore Danish: Hun er ved at læse en bog, mens hun venter på sin veninde. - She is in the middle of reading a book while she waits for her female friend.

Hun læser en bog = She is reading a book / She reads a book (neutral, simple statement of what she is doing).
Hun er ved at læse en bog = literally She is at (the point of) reading a book.

In practice, "er ved at + infinitive" often corresponds to the English present continuous (is doing), especially for ongoing actions. It can:

Emphasize that the action is in progress right now.
Sometimes suggest the action is in the process of starting or just about to happen, depending on context.

Here, with "mens hun venter", it clearly means she is currently engaged in reading while she waits.

Can "er ved at læse" also mean "is about to read", like she hasn’t started yet?

Yes, it can have that meaning, but it depends on context.

Process / ongoing:
- Hun er ved at læse en bog, mens hun venter…
  → The natural reading is: she is in the middle of reading.
About to start / on the verge of:
- Hun er ved at gå nu.
  → She is about to leave now / just about to go.

So "er ved at" can mean:

is in the process of doing something, or
is about to do something.

Context, surrounding time expressions, and the verb itself usually make it clear which meaning is intended. In your sentence, the waiting and the reading are overlapping actions, so in the process of reading is the intended meaning.

What is the role of "at" in "er ved at læse"? Is it the same "at" as in "at" = "at" (a place)?

No, there are two different "at" words in Danish:

"at" as an infinitive marker (like English to):
- at læse = to read
- at spise = to eat
  In "er ved at læse", this "at" is just marking the infinitive læse.
"at" as a preposition meaning at (location, time, etc.) is rare and mostly seen in fixed expressions or older/formal language. It is not the one used here.

So in your sentence:

ved = at / in the process of
at læse = to read

Together: "er ved at læse" = is in the process of reading.

Why is it "mens hun venter" and not "mens venter hun"?

Danish has different word order rules for main clauses and subordinate clauses:

In main clauses, Danish is a V2 language: the verb comes in second position:
- Hun venter. (She waits.)
- Nu venter hun. (Now she waits.)
In subordinate clauses (introduced by words like mens, at, fordi, når), the typical order is:
- conjunction + subject + verb + …

So:

Correct: mens hun venter (conjunction mens
- subject hun
  - verb venter)
Incorrect: mens venter hun

"mens hun venter" literally: while she waits / while she is waiting.

Why is the subject "hun" repeated? In English we might say “while waiting for her friend” without repeating she.

In Danish, you almost always need to state the subject explicitly in each clause, even if it’s the same person:

Hun er ved at læse en bog, mens hun venter på sin veninde.

You cannot just drop the subject in the second clause:

✗ Hun er ved at læse en bog, mens venter på sin veninde. (wrong)

Danish does not normally allow “subject dropping” like English does in -ing constructions (while waiting, after eating, etc.). Each finite verb (venter) needs its subject (hun) expressed.

Why is it "venter på" and not just "venter" or "venter sin veninde"?

In Danish, "at vente på nogen/noget" is the normal way to say "to wait for someone/something":

Hun venter på bussen. = She is waiting for the bus.
Vi venter på ham. = We are waiting for him.
Hun venter på sin veninde. = She is waiting for her (female) friend.

You cannot say:

✗ Hun venter sin veninde. (ungrammatical in this meaning)

So "på" is just part of the idiomatic pattern vente på + object.

Why is it "sin veninde" and not "hendes veninde"?

Danish distinguishes between reflexive and non‑reflexive possessive pronouns:

sin / sit / sine = her/his/their own (refers back to the subject of the clause)
hendes / hans / deres = her / his / their (someone else’s, not the subject’s)

In your sentence:

Subject of the clause: hun
Object: veninde
Owner of the veninde is the subject herself (it’s her own friend).

So you must use the reflexive form:

Hun venter på sin veninde.
= She is waiting for her own (female) friend.

If you said:

Hun venter på hendes veninde.

this would normally be understood as:
She is waiting for *another woman’s (some other “her’s”) friend*, not her own.

What exactly is the difference between "veninde" and "ven"?

Both relate to friends, but they carry different gender information:

veninde
- specifically a female friend
- the word itself is grammatically common gender (en veninde)
ven
- gender‑neutral in grammar (en ven), but in practice often understood as male friend
- however, in modern usage it can also be used for a female friend, especially in more gender‑neutral or informal speech.

So:

sin veninde = her female friend
sin ven = her friend (often understood as male, but can be neutral depending on context)

In your sentence, veninde makes it explicit that the friend is female.

Could you say "Hun læser en bog, mens hun venter på sin veninde" instead? Would that change the meaning?

Yes, that sentence is perfectly correct:

Hun læser en bog, mens hun venter på sin veninde.

Differences in nuance:

Hun læser en bog…
- simple, neutral statement: she is reading a book while waiting.
- corresponds well to English “She is reading a book while she waits…”.
Hun er ved at læse en bog…
- can feel a bit more like you’re emphasizing the process or ongoingness of the action.
- in many contexts, though, it will be understood almost the same as hun læser.

So you can safely use Hun læser en bog, mens hun venter… in everyday speech; er ved at adds a slight process/“in the middle of it” flavor.

How do you pronounce "ved" and "veninde" in this sentence?

Approximate pronunciations (using English-like hints):

ved
- Danish: /veˀ/
- The d is not pronounced like an English d. It’s basically not heard; you get something close to “veh” with a very short, abrupt ending.
veninde
- Danish: /veˈnenə/ (roughly)
- Broken down:
  - ve- like ve in very
  - -nin- like nin in ninny (but shorter)
  - -de is very weak, almost like a schwa -de / -deh, often sounding like “ve-NIN-eh”.

In connected speech, the whole sentence flows together and many consonants are softened or reduced, which is typical of Danish pronunciation.