Learn Hardcore Danish: Søskendene ser filmen i stuen. - The siblings watch the movie in the living room.

The form in the sentence, Søskendene, looks like a spelling mistake or a non‑standard form; standard Danish would normally use Søskenderne for the siblings.

Why is there no separate word for the in Søskendene, filmen, and stuen?

Danish usually shows definiteness (the‑form) with an ending on the noun instead of a separate word like English the.

Examples from the sentence:

en film = a film / a movie
filmen = the film / the movie
en stue = a living room
stuen = the living room

So instead of the film, Danish says filmen; instead of the living room, it says stuen.

For søskende:

søskende = siblings
søskenderne = the siblings

(The form søskendene in your sentence is likely meant to be søskenderne.)

What is the base (dictionary) form of ser?

The verb in the sentence is ser, which is the present tense of the verb at se (to see / to watch).

Main forms:

at se = to see / to watch (infinitive)
ser = see / sees, or are watching / is watching (present)
så = saw (past)
set = seen (past participle)

In this sentence, ser corresponds to are watching / watch.

In English we say watch a film, but Danish uses se en film. Is se more like see or watch?

Literally, se means to see, but in many contexts it is translated as watch.

Jeg ser en film. = I am watching a movie.
Jeg så ham i går. = I saw him yesterday.

So ser filmen is best translated as (are) watching the film, even though the basic meaning of se is see.

Why is the verb ser in the second position in Søskendene ser filmen i stuen?

Danish main clauses normally follow a V2 rule (verb‑second), similar to German:

First position: some kind of topic (often the subject)
Second position: the finite verb (here: ser)
Then the rest (objects, adverbials, etc.)

So:

Søskendene (topic / subject)
ser (finite verb)
filmen i stuen (object + place)

That is why ser must come right after Søskendene in a normal statement.

Can I move i stuen to the front, and how does that change the word order?

Yes, you can front the place phrase i stuen for emphasis or context:

I stuen ser søskendene filmen.

Here:

I stuen is now first (topic).
The verb ser still has to be second (V2 rule).
The subject søskendene comes after the verb.
filmen (the object) stays after that.

You cannot say:

✗ I stuen søskendene ser filmen (wrong: verb not in second position).

Why is it i stuen and not på stuen?

The preposition i normally means in, while på usually means on or at, but Danish prepositions are often idiomatic.

For rooms in a house, Danish typically uses i:

i stuen = in the living room
i køkkenet = in the kitchen
i soveværelset = in the bedroom

Using på stuen in this sense would sound wrong to a native speaker.

What is the difference between i stue and i stuen?

The difference is definite vs. indefinite:

i stue – in a living room (indefinite; rarely used like this, you’d more naturally say i en stue)
i stuen – in the living room (definite)

In real sentences you’d normally hear:

i en stue = in a living room
i stuen = in the living room

What are the singular and plural forms of film in Danish?

Film is quite regular:

en film = a film / a movie (singular, indefinite)
filmen = the film / the movie (singular, definite)
film = films / movies (plural, indefinite)
filmene = the films / the movies (plural, definite)

In the sentence, filmen is singular definite: the film / the movie.

Does ser filmen mean are watching the film or watch the film? How do you express the continuous tense in Danish?

Danish does not have a special continuous tense like English am watching. The simple present ser can correspond to both watch and are watching, depending on context.

So:

Søskendene ser filmen i stuen.
= The siblings watch the movie in the living room.
= The siblings are watching the movie in the living room.

If you really want to stress that it is happening right now, you can add an adverb:

Søskendene ser filmen i stuen lige nu.
= The siblings are watching the movie in the living room right now.

Is the verb ser changed for plural subjects like Søskendene?

No. Danish verbs do not change according to person or number.

Jeg ser = I see / I am watching
Du ser = you see / you are watching
Han / hun ser = he / she sees / is watching
Vi ser = we see / are watching
I ser = you (plural) see / are watching
De ser = they see / are watching

So with Søskendene (the siblings, plural) the verb is still just ser.

How are the words in this sentence pronounced? Especially søskendene / søskenderne, ser, and stuen?

Approximate pronunciations (in simple English terms):

søskende ≈ SØS-ken-neh
- ø is a rounded vowel, somewhere between English “sir” and “her”, but with rounded lips.
søskenderne (standard definite form) ≈ SØS-ken-der-neh
ser ≈ sehr (like English “sair” but shorter)
stuen ≈ STOO-en
- u here is like the oo in “food”, but often a bit shorter.
- The final -en is weak, roughly -en / -n.

These are very rough approximations; Danish pronunciation has some features (like stød and vowel quality) that are hard to show in plain English spelling.