Jeg lægger hvidløget i gryden.

Lægger is the present tense of at lægge.

So:

• at lægge = to lay / put / place
• jeg lægger = I lay / I put / I am putting

In Danish, the present tense often covers both:

• I put the garlic in the pot
• I am putting the garlic in the pot

The exact English translation depends on context.

This is one of the most common Danish learner questions.

• at lægge = to put something somewhere, or to lay something down
• at ligge = to be lying somewhere

So:

• Jeg lægger hvidløget i gryden = I put the garlic in the pot
• Hvidløget ligger i gryden = The garlic is lying / is in the pot

A useful way to remember it:

• lægge involves an action done to something
• ligge describes where something is

So in your sentence, the speaker is actively moving the garlic, so lægger is correct.

Because Danish usually does not need a separate progressive form like English am + -ing.

The simple present often does that job:

• Jeg lægger hvidløget i gryden can mean I put the garlic in the pot or I’m putting the garlic in the pot

If the context makes it clear that the action is happening right now, Danish normally just uses the present tense.

Because hvidløget is the definite form: the garlic.

• hvidløg = garlic
• hvidløget = the garlic

Danish usually adds the definite article to the end of the noun instead of using a separate word like the.

So:

• hvidløg = garlic
• hvidløget = the garlic

Here it means a specific garlic ingredient that is already known from the situation, for example the garlic you are currently cooking with.

Because hvidløg is a neuter noun.

Its forms are:

• et hvidløg = a garlic / garlic
• hvidløget = the garlic

For many neuter nouns, the definite singular ending is -et.

Compare:

• et hus → huset
• et æble → æblet
• et hvidløg → hvidløget

So the -et ending is marking definiteness.

Because gryden means the pot.

The noun is:

• en gryde = a pot
• gryden = the pot

Unlike hvidløg, gryde is a common-gender noun, so its definite singular ending is usually -en.

So:

• en gryde → gryden
• en bil → bilen
• en stol → stolen

That is why you get i gryden = in the pot / into the pot.

Because in Danish, the definite article is usually attached to the noun as a suffix.

English uses a separate word:

• the garlic
• the pot

Danish often uses endings instead:

• hvidløget
• gryden

That is the normal pattern when there is no adjective before the noun.

For example:

• gryden = the pot
• den store gryde = the big pot

Notice that with an adjective, Danish usually uses a separate article word like den/det/de instead.

In this sentence, it effectively means into the pot, because the verb lægger shows movement.

So even though i often means in, Danish commonly uses it with motion verbs where English would prefer into:

• Jeg lægger hvidløget i gryden = I put the garlic into the pot

If you want to make the movement even more explicit, Danish can also say:

• Jeg lægger hvidløget ind i gryden

But in everyday Danish, i gryden is very natural here.

The word order is:

• Jeg = subject
• lægger = verb
• hvidløget = object
• i gryden = adverbial/prepositional phrase

So the pattern is:

Subject + verb + object + place

That is a very normal Danish main-clause order.

Also remember that Danish is a verb-second language in main clauses. That means if you move something else to the front, the verb still stays in second position:

• Jeg lægger hvidløget i gryden
• Nu lægger jeg hvidløget i gryden
• I gryden lægger jeg hvidløget

The first version is the most neutral here.

Yes, in many situations you could.

• Jeg lægger hvidløget i gryden = I put/place the garlic in the pot
• Jeg putter hvidløget i gryden = I put the garlic in the pot

But there is a slight difference in feel:

• lægger often sounds like placing something
• putter often sounds a bit more like putting/sticking something somewhere, and can feel a little more colloquial

In cooking Danish, you may also hear:

• Jeg kommer hvidløget i gryden

That is very common in recipe-style language and means something like I add/put the garlic into the pot.

So lægger is correct, but it is not the only possible verb.

The dictionary form is at lægge.

Some useful forms are:

• at lægge = to put / lay
• lægger = put(s) / am putting
• lagde = put / laid
• har lagt = have/has put, have/has laid

Example:

• Jeg lægger hvidløget i gryden = I put / am putting the garlic in the pot
• Jeg lagde hvidløget i gryden = I put the garlic in the pot
• Jeg har lagt hvidløget i gryden = I have put the garlic in the pot

This verb is worth learning well because it is very common, and it is often confused with ligge.