Jeg lægger mors nøgle på bordet ved døren.

Because lægge means to lay / to put something somewhere, while ligge means to lie / to be lying somewhere.

In this sentence, the subject is actively placing the key on the table, so Danish uses lægger:

• Jeg lægger nøglen på bordet = I put the key on the table.

If the key was already there, you would use ligger:

• Nøglen ligger på bordet = The key is lying / is on the table.

This is a very common Danish distinction, and it works a lot like the old English difference between lay and lie.

Yes, in this sentence the word order is basically the same as in English:

• Jeg = I
• lægger = put
• mors nøgle = mother’s key
• på bordet = on the table
• ved døren = by the door

So the structure is:

subject + verb + object + place

That said, Danish word order can change more than English in some sentence types. In a normal main clause like this one, though, this order is very natural.

Danish forms possession by adding -s directly to the noun, without an apostrophe.

So:

• mor = mother
• mors = mother’s

That means:

• mors nøgle = mother’s key

This is different from English, where you normally write mother’s with an apostrophe. In Danish, you usually just add s:

• Peters bil = Peter’s car
• Lærers bog = the teacher’s book

Apostrophes are generally not used for ordinary possession in Danish.

Both are possible, but they mean slightly different things in emphasis.

• mors nøgle = mother’s key
• min mors nøgle = my mother’s key

In many contexts, Danish leaves out min if it is already clear whose mother is meant. So mors nøgle can sound natural and idiomatic.

A learner may expect my mother’s key, but Danish often prefers the shorter version when the relationship is obvious.

Because the sentence means mother’s key, not the mother’s key as a separate definite form.

In Danish, when a noun is modified by a possessor, it is usually not marked with the definite ending. So you say:

• mors nøgle = mother’s key
• Peters bil = Peter’s car

Not:

• mors nøglen
• Peters bilen

This is an important pattern: after a possessive, the noun is normally in its basic indefinite form.

Because Danish nouns have grammatical gender, and the definite singular ending depends on the gender.

• et bord = a table → bordet = the table
• en dør = a door → døren = the door

So:

• -et is a common definite ending for et-words
• -en is a common definite ending for en-words

That is why the sentence has:

• på bordet = on the table
• ved døren = by the door

Here, yes: på bordet means on the table.

In Danish, på is very often used for physical contact with a surface:

• på bordet = on the table
• på gulvet = on the floor
• på væggen = on the wall

But like English on, på has several uses and does not always translate word-for-word in every expression. In this sentence, though, på is exactly what you would expect.

Ved usually means by, near, or beside.

So:

• ved døren = by the door / near the door

It tells you where the table is located, or more broadly the area connected with the action. In this sentence, på bordet ved døren means on the table by the door.

This is different from:

• i døren = in the door / in the doorway
• på døren = on the door

So ved is the natural choice for something located next to the door.

Most naturally, it describes the table:

• på bordet ved døren = on the table by the door

So the most likely meaning is that there is a table near the door, and the speaker is putting the key on that table.

In theory, learners sometimes wonder whether it could mean the key is by the door. But the most natural reading is that ved døren goes with bordet.

A rough guide is something like LEH-ger, but with a soft Danish g.

A few helpful points:

• æ sounds somewhat like the vowel in English cat, though not exactly the same.
• The gg in lægger does not sound like a hard English g as in go.
• In standard Danish, the second g is softened, so the word sounds smoother than an English speaker might expect.

If you are learning pronunciation, it is best to listen to native audio, because Danish soft consonants are hard to guess from spelling alone.

Because possessives already make the noun specific.

In English, you also do not usually say:

• I put the my mother’s key... ❌

You say:

• I put my mother’s key... ✅

The same idea applies in Danish:

• mors nøgle = mother’s key

The possessive already identifies the noun, so no extra article is needed.

Yes, you may hear putter in everyday Danish, and it can mean put. But lægger is especially appropriate when placing something down onto a surface.

Compare:

• Jeg lægger nøglen på bordet = I put/lay the key on the table
• Jeg putter nøglen i lommen = I put the key in my pocket

So lægger is a very natural and precise choice here because the key is being placed on the table.