I morges lå der is på dammen, men anden stod stadig roligt ved kanten.

I morges means this morning / earlier this morning. It is a fixed time expression.

It is very easy to confuse it with i morgen, which means tomorrow. So:

• i morges = this morning
• i morgen = tomorrow

Also compare om morgenen, which usually means in the morning in a general or habitual sense, not specifically this morning.

This is because Danish is a V2 language in main clauses. That means the finite verb normally comes in the second position.

Here, I morges has been placed first to set the time. Because of that, the finite verb lå must come next:

• I morges
  • lå
    • ...

If you did not start with the time expression, you could also say:

• Der lå is på dammen i morges

Both are correct, but the version in your sentence gives special prominence to this morning.

Here der is an expletive or dummy subject. It is used in Danish much like English there in sentences such as There was ice on the pond.

So:

• der lå is på dammen = there was ice on the pond

In this sentence, der does not mean a physical place. The actual location is given later by på dammen.

Danish often prefers a position verb where English might simply use be.

Here lå comes from ligge, meaning lie / be lying. It is used because the ice is understood as lying on the surface of the pond.

So lå der is på dammen is more natural Danish than just using var. Danish often does this with things that are:

• lying → ligge
• standing → stå
• sitting → sidde

Because is here is being used as a mass noun, like water or snow in English.

So Danish says:

• der lå is på dammen

not normally:

• der lå en is på dammen

The form with en would sound as if you meant an ice cream or some single countable item, which is not the meaning here.

Because the ice is on the surface of the pond, not in the water.

So:

• på dammen = on the pond
• i dammen = in the pond

This is the same basic idea as English: if something is floating or covering the surface, Danish often uses på.

That -en is the definite article attached to the noun. In Danish, the definite article is often added to the end of the word instead of being a separate word like English the.

So:

• and = duck

• anden = the duck

• dam = pond

• dammen = the pond

• kant = edge
• kanten = the edge

This is one of the most important differences between Danish and English noun structure.

You know mainly from context.

In this sentence, anden comes after talk about a pond and ice, so the duck is the natural meaning. It is the definite form of and = duck.

It is true that anden can also be a different word in other contexts, meaning the other one or the second. Danish learners often notice this ambiguity, but usually the surrounding words make the meaning clear.

Again, Danish often uses position verbs where English simply uses was.

Stod is the past tense of stå, meaning stand. It tells you the duck was in an upright position near the edge.

So Danish prefers:

• anden stod ved kanten

rather than a more neutral anden var ved kanten, which is possible in some contexts but less vivid and less natural here.

Stadig means still.

It shows that the duck remained there despite the cold conditions. In a normal Danish main clause, adverbs like stadig often come after the finite verb:

• anden stod stadig ...

So the order is natural Danish word order:

• subject: anden
• finite verb: stod
• adverb: stadig

Because roligt is an adverb, while rolig is an adjective.

Here the word describes how the duck stood, not what the duck was like in itself. So Danish uses the adverb form:

• roligt = calmly

Compare:

• anden var rolig = the duck was calm
• anden stod roligt = the duck stood calmly

The -t often marks the adverb form when it is based on a neuter adjective form.

Because the two adverbs do different jobs.

• stadig tells you about continuation in time: still
• roligt tells you about manner: calmly

In Danish, it is natural for the time/continuation adverb to come before the manner adverb:

• stod stadig roligt

So the sentence first says the duck was still there, and then adds how it was standing.

Ved kanten means by the edge or at the edge.

Ved is used for being next to or near something. That fits the idea here: the duck is beside the edge of the pond.

If you said på kanten, that would suggest being on the edge itself, more literally on top of the edge. That is a different image.

Because men joins two main clauses, and in standard Danish punctuation, a comma is normally used before a coordinating conjunction like men when it connects full clauses.

The two clauses are:

• I morges lå der is på dammen
• men anden stod stadig roligt ved kanten

So the comma helps show the boundary between them.