Jeg smider de gamle aviser i skraldespanden.

Smider is the present tense of smide, which usually means to throw, to toss, or sometimes to chuck/put something somewhere.

In this sentence, it is very natural to understand it as I throw / I toss / I put the old newspapers into the trash can.

So:

• at smide = to throw / toss
• jeg smider = I throw / I am throwing

Depending on context, it can sound a bit more casual than a very literal throw in English.

Because Danish often uses a special pattern when a noun is definite and has an adjective before it.

Compare:

• aviser = newspapers
• aviserne = the newspapers

But if you add an adjective, Danish normally uses:

• de gamle aviser = the old newspapers

So in Danish, you usually do not say gamle aviserne.

A useful rule is:

• the + adjective + plural noun → de + adjective + noun
• the newspapers → aviserne
• the old newspapers → de gamle aviser

Here, de is not the pronoun they. It is being used as a definite article/determiner before an adjective and noun.

So:

• de gamle aviser = the old newspapers

This de is the correct form in this structure.

By contrast, dem is usually the object form of the pronoun they/them:

• Jeg ser dem = I see them

So:

• de gamle aviser = correct
• dem gamle aviser = not standard Danish in this meaning

Because adjectives in Danish often take -e when they are used:

• with a plural noun
• or with a definite noun

Here, the noun phrase is both plural and definite:

• de gamle aviser = the old newspapers

So the adjective appears as gamle.

Compare:

• en gammel avis = an old newspaper
• gamle aviser = old newspapers
• den gamle avis = the old newspaper
• de gamle aviser = the old newspapers

Because the definiteness is already being shown by de.

In Danish, with an adjective before a plural definite noun, the noun itself usually stays in the indefinite plural form:

• aviser = newspapers
• de gamle aviser = the old newspapers

So even though the whole phrase is definite, the noun itself is not written as aviserne in this structure.

This is a very common Danish pattern.

I basically means in in Danish, but with verbs of movement it can often correspond to English into.

So in this sentence:

• Jeg smider de gamle aviser i skraldespanden

the meaning is naturally I throw the old newspapers into the trash can.

Danish often uses i where English prefers into. The idea of movement comes from the verb smider.

You may also hear more explicit forms in other contexts, such as:

• ind i = into

But in this sentence, plain i is completely normal.

Because skraldespand is a common-gender noun, and -en is the usual definite singular ending for common-gender nouns.

So:

• en skraldespand = a trash can / garbage bin
• skraldespanden = the trash can / the garbage bin

If it were a neuter noun, you would expect -et instead.

Yes. That would also be correct, but it means I throw the newspapers in/into the trash can without describing them as old.

Compare:

• Jeg smider aviserne i skraldespanden = I throw the newspapers into the trash can
• Jeg smider de gamle aviser i skraldespanden = I throw the old newspapers into the trash can

So the version with de gamle adds the description old.

In this simple sentence, yes, it is very similar:

• Jeg = I
• smider = throw
• de gamle aviser = the old newspapers
• i skraldespanden = in/into the trash can

So the structure is:

• Subject + verb + object + place

That said, Danish has the V2 rule in main clauses, which means the verb must stay in the second position if something else is moved to the front.

For example:

• Jeg smider de gamle aviser i skraldespanden.
• I skraldespanden smider jeg de gamle aviser.

Both are possible, but the second one has a different emphasis.

It is a compound noun:

• skrald = garbage / trash
• spand = bucket / bin

So skraldespand literally means something like garbage bin or trash bucket.

Then the definite ending -en is added:

• skraldespand = trash can / garbage bin
• skraldespanden = the trash can / the garbage bin

Compound nouns are extremely common in Danish.

No. Like English throw or toss, smide can be used in a few related ways.

It can mean:

• literally throw something
• casually put something somewhere
• throw something away
• dump something

In this sentence, it strongly suggests getting rid of the newspapers by putting/throwing them into the trash can.

So it does not have to mean a dramatic physical throw. It can simply mean disposing of them.