Der stod også en due på hegnet, og min datter viste mig et egern i den store busk.

Here der is a dummy or introductory word, similar to English there in sentences like There was a pigeon on the fence.

So Der stod også en due på hegnet literally looks like:

• There stood also a pigeon on the fence

In natural English, we would usually say There was also a pigeon on the fence.

Important: this der does not mean a specific place like there over there. It is just used to introduce the existence or presence of something.

Danish often uses more specific position verbs where English would simply use be.

Here:

• stå = stand
• sidde = sit
• ligge = lie

A bird on a fence is imagined as being upright/on its feet, so Danish uses stå:

• Der stod en due på hegnet = literally There stood a pigeon on the fence

English usually does not do this, so we just say There was a pigeon on the fence.

If you used var, it would not be impossible in every context, but stod sounds more natural because it describes the bird’s position.

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

In Der stod også en due på hegnet:

1. Der
2. stod

After that, elements like også can come.

So:

• Der stod også en due på hegnet

not normally:

• Der også stod en due på hegnet in this kind of main clause

A useful rule: in ordinary Danish statements, the conjugated verb usually comes very early, often as the second element.

Because Danish nouns have two grammatical genders:

• common gender → takes en
• neuter gender → takes et

So:

• en due = a pigeon
• et egern = a squirrel

This is something you usually have to learn with each noun.

A few forms from the sentence:

• en due → duen = the pigeon
• et egern → egernet = the squirrel

Because hegnet means the fence, not a fence.

In Danish, the definite article is usually added to the end of the noun:

• et hegn = a fence
• hegnet = the fence

So:

• på hegnet = on the fence

This is one of the most important differences from English: Danish often expresses the with a suffix instead of a separate word.

In Danish, possessives like min, mit, mine already make the noun definite in meaning, so you do not add en/et before the noun.

So:

• min datter = my daughter

not:

• en min datter

This is similar to English, where we say my daughter, not a my daughter.

Here vise means to show.

The pattern is:

• vise someone something

So:

• min datter viste mig et egern
• literally: my daughter showed me a squirrel

The parts are:

• min datter = subject
• viste = past tense verb
• mig = indirect object, the person being shown
• et egern = direct object, the thing being shown

This order is very common in Danish.

Normally, with vise, Danish prefers the pattern:

• vise nogen noget = show someone something

So viste mig et egern is the most natural phrasing here.

A phrase with til may be possible in some special contexts, but for a learner, the safe and natural pattern is:

• Hun viste mig et egern
• Han viste os et billede
• Jeg viste dem vejen

So it is best to learn vise with two objects.

Because when a noun is definite and has an adjective before it, Danish usually uses double definiteness.

That means you get:

1. a separate definite word like den/det/de
2. the adjective in definite form
3. the noun, usually without the attached definite ending in this structure

So:

• busken = the bush
• den store busk = the big bush

Here:

• i den store busk = in the big bush

You need den because store busk alone would not be correct here.

Because store is the form used with definite nouns and also with plural nouns.

Compare:

• en stor busk = a big bush
• den store busk = the big bush
• store buske = big bushes

So in den store busk, the adjective must be store.

This is about prepositions and physical location.

• på = on
• i = in

So:

• på hegnet = on the fence
• i den store busk = in the big bush

That matches English fairly closely here. The pigeon is on top of / perched on the fence, while the squirrel is inside or among the branches of the bush.

They are both simple past forms.

• stå → stod = stood / was standing
• vise → viste = showed

So the sentence is describing two past events or past situations.

Useful base forms:

• at stå = to stand
• at vise = to show

Og simply means and. It connects the two parts of the sentence:

• Der stod også en due på hegnet
• og min datter viste mig et egern i den store busk

So the whole sentence is one coordinated sentence with two main clauses joined by og.

It can correspond to all of those in English, depending on context.

Here også means:

• also
• too
• as well

So Der stod også en due på hegnet means that this is another thing the speaker noticed in addition to something previously mentioned.

Here i den store busk most naturally goes with et egern.

So the meaning is:

• a squirrel in the big bush

The structure is basically:

• min datter viste mig
  • et egern i den store busk

In other words, the location describes where the squirrel was.

They are:

• en due → duen = the pigeon
• et egern → egernet = the squirrel
• en busk → busken = the bush

This is useful because Danish often marks definiteness by adding the ending directly to the noun.

A good list would be:

• der = introductory there
• at stå = to stand
• også = also, too
• en due = a pigeon, dove
• et hegn = a fence
• min datter = my daughter
• at vise = to show
• mig = me
• et egern = a squirrel
• stor = big, large
• en busk = a bush

This sentence is especially useful because it also shows several core grammar patterns at the same time:

• verb-second word order
• noun gender
• definite noun forms
• possessives
• adjective agreement
• common prepositions