Ved hæveautomaten får jeg både en mindre seddel og nogle mønter.

Ved hæveautomaten means at the ATM / by the cash machine.

Danish often puts a time or place expression first to set the scene. When that happens, the sentence still follows the verb-second rule, so the verb comes next:

• Ved hæveautomaten får jeg ...
• literally: At the ATM get I ...

In natural English, we would say At the ATM, I get ..., but Danish requires the verb får to come before jeg because the sentence begins with Ved hæveautomaten.

This is because of the Danish V2 rule: in main clauses, the finite verb usually comes in the second position.

Here, the first element is:

• Ved hæveautomaten

So the verb must come next:

• får

And then the subject follows:

• jeg

So:

• Ved hæveautomaten får jeg ...

If the sentence began with the subject, then you would get normal subject-verb order:

• Jeg får både en mindre seddel og nogle mønter ved hæveautomaten.

Both are correct, but the word order changes depending on what comes first.

Here ved means at, by, or near.

So ved hæveautomaten means:

• at the ATM
• by the ATM
• near the ATM

It is not the same as i (in) or always the same as på (on/at). Danish prepositions do not always match English exactly, so ved is simply the natural choice here for being located by a machine or place.

Hæveautomaten is the definite singular form: the ATM.

Danish often adds the definite article to the end of the noun:

• en hæveautomat = an ATM
• hæveautomaten = the ATM

So the ending -en means the.

This noun is also a compound:

• hæve = withdraw
• automat = machine

So hæveautomat literally means something like withdrawal machine, i.e. ATM / cash machine.

Både ... og ... means both ... and ...

In this sentence:

• både en mindre seddel og nogle mønter
• both a smaller note and some coins

It is a very common Danish structure:

• Jeg kan lide både kaffe og te.
• I like both coffee and tea.

So when you see både, expect an og later in the sentence.

Here mindre means smaller, not less in the abstract sense.

• lille = small
• mindre = smaller

So:

• en mindre seddel = a smaller banknote / a smaller bill

In context, this probably means a note of a lower denomination.

Danish often uses the comparative form naturally in cases where English might also say:

• a smaller note
• a lower-value note

So mindre is the comparative adjective here.

Because the two noun phrases work differently:

• en mindre seddel = a smaller note
• nogle mønter = some coins

So seddel has the singular indefinite article en, while mønter has nogle, which means some and works with plural countable nouns.

This is parallel to English:

• a note
• some coins

Nogle usually means some when talking about plural countable nouns.

Here:

• nogle mønter = some coins

It is used when you mean an unspecified number of things.

Compare:

• en mønt = a coin
• mønter = coins
• nogle mønter = some coins

So nogle is very common when you want to say some with plural nouns.

• en seddel = a note / banknote / bill
• en mønt = a coin

Plural:

• sedler = notes / bills
• mønter = coins

In this sentence:

• en mindre seddel = one banknote
• nogle mønter = several coins

So the sentence contrasts paper money and coins.

Yes, at least roughly.

It is made from:

• hæve = to withdraw
• automat = machine

So literally it is something like withdrawal machine.

But in natural English, you would usually say:

• ATM
• cash machine

So while the literal structure is useful for understanding the Danish word, the natural translation is ATM.

Grammatically, mindre is the comparative form, so it means smaller / less rather than simply small.

The basic forms are:

• lille = small
• mindre = smaller
• mindst = smallest

So if a learner sees mindre, they should normally think of comparison, even if the thing being compared is only implied by context.

In this sentence, the implied idea is probably a smaller denomination than another one.

Yes. Danish allows different elements to come first, as long as the finite verb stays in second position.

For example:

• Jeg får både en mindre seddel og nogle mønter ved hæveautomaten.
• Ved hæveautomaten får jeg både en mindre seddel og nogle mønter.

Both are grammatical. The version with Ved hæveautomaten first gives more emphasis to the location.

This is a very common feature of Danish sentence structure, and it is one of the main things English speakers need to get used to.