Sæt dig ned i stuen, mens jeg laver kaffe.

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Breakdown of Sæt dig ned i stuen, mens jeg laver kaffe.

• i: in
• stuen: the living room
• mens: while

Questions & Answers about Sæt dig ned i stuen, mens jeg laver kaffe.

Why does the sentence start with Sæt—what form is that?

Sæt is the imperative (command) form of the verb at sætte (to set/put/place). In Danish, the imperative is typically just the verb stem:

• at sætte → Sæt!
  So Sæt dig ned ... literally means Sit down ... (more literally Set yourself down ...).

Why do we say Sæt dig—what is dig doing here?

Dig is the reflexive pronoun meaning yourself (object form of du). Danish often uses a reflexive construction where English just uses sit:

• Sæt dig ned = Sit down (literally Set yourself down)
  Other persons:
• Sæt jer ned = sit down (to several people)
• Sæt Dem ned = sit down (formal, older/very polite)

What is the function of ned in Sæt dig ned?

Ned is an adverb/particle meaning down. With certain verbs it forms a natural “particle verb” style expression:

• sætte sig = to seat oneself
• sætte sig ned = to sit down (emphasizes the motion of sitting down)
  You can sometimes omit ned, but Sæt dig ned is the most common everyday phrasing.

Why is it i stuen and not something like ?