Han betaler for sin billet ved automaten.

Because sin is the reflexive possessive. Danish uses sin/sit/sine when the owner is the same as the subject of the sentence.

Here, the subject is Han (he), so:

• Han betaler for sin billet = he is paying for his own ticket

But:

• Han betaler for hans billet = he is paying for another male person’s ticket

This is one of the most important differences between Danish and English, because English uses his for both meanings, while Danish makes the distinction.

Because in Danish, a possessive like min, din, sin, hans, hendes already acts as the determiner. You do not add a separate definite article as well.

So:

• sin billet = his ticket
• not sin billetten

That would be ungrammatical in normal Danish.

The verb is at betale, and when you say what someone is paying money for, Danish normally uses for:

• betale for en billet = pay for a ticket
• betale for maden = pay for the food

So in this sentence, betaler for sin billet means he is paying money in order to get his ticket.

English also says pay for, so this part matches English quite nicely.

Betaler is the present tense of at betale.

The forms are:

• at betale = to pay
• betaler = pays / is paying

Danish present tense often covers both:

• a general action: He pays
• an action happening now: He is paying

So context tells you which one is meant.

Because Danish usually puts the definite article on the end of the noun.

So:

• en automat = a machine
• automaten = the machine

This is very common in Danish:

• en billet = a ticket

• billetten = the ticket

• en station = a station
• stationen = the station

So ved automaten literally means by the machine or at the machine.

Here ved means something like at, by, or next to.

So ved automaten means he is standing at the machine while paying.

In English, we might say:

• at the machine
• by the machine

Danish often uses ved for location near or at something:

• ved døren = by the door
• ved bordet = at the table
• ved automaten = at/by the machine

In this context, it can suggest both location and the practical situation of using the machine.

Billet is an en-word:

• en billet = a ticket
• billetten = the ticket

That matters for articles and endings. For example:

• en billet
• min billet
• sin billet

If it were an et-word, the forms would be different.

Yes. Danish word order is flexible, but the finite verb still has to stay in the second position in main clauses.

So you can say:

• Han betaler for sin billet ved automaten.
• Ved automaten betaler han for sin billet.

Both are grammatical.

When you move ved automaten to the front, the verb betaler must come before the subject han. This is the normal Danish V2 pattern.

Not by itself. Automat can mean a machine, vending machine, or automated machine depending on context.

In this sentence, because we are talking about paying for a ticket, automaten is naturally understood as the ticket machine.

Danish often leaves that kind of detail to context, just like English sometimes says the machine when everyone knows which machine is meant.

A few parts may feel difficult for English speakers:

• betaler: roughly beh-TAH-ler
• billet: roughly bee-LET
• ved: the d is soft, so it is not a strong English d
• automaten: roughly aw-toh-MAH-ten

A couple of useful pronunciation notes:

• Danish r is not like a strong English r
• unstressed endings such as -er and -en are often pronounced more lightly than English learners expect
• ved may sound smoother and softer than its spelling suggests

If you are learning pronunciation, it is especially helpful to listen for the rhythm of the whole sentence rather than saying each word too separately.

Because Danish usually does not need a separate progressive form like English is paying.

English often distinguishes:

• he pays
• he is paying

But Danish commonly uses the simple present for both:

• Han betaler = he pays / he is paying

If needed, Danish can add words to make the action feel more ongoing, but in many everyday sentences the plain present tense is enough.