Du kan sætte blomsterne hvor som helst i stuen, men min datter vil helst have dem på bordet ved vinduet.

Blomsterne is the definite plural form: the flowers.

• en blomst = a flower
• blomster = flowers
• blomsterne = the flowers

Danish often adds the definite ending directly to the noun instead of using a separate word like the.

Stuen means the living room (or the sitting room), not just a living room.

• en stue = a living room / a room
• stuen = the living room

So i stuen means in the living room.

Here sætte means to put or to place.

So Du kan sætte blomsterne... means You can put/place the flowers...

A useful distinction:

• sætte is often used when you place something somewhere
• stille can also mean put/place, especially for upright objects
• In everyday Danish, both may appear in similar contexts, but sætte blomsterne is completely natural here.

After a modal verb like kan (can) or vil (want/will), Danish uses the infinitive form of the next verb.

So:

• kan sætte = can put
• vil have = wants to have

Not:

• kan sætter
• vil har

This is similar to English:

• can put, not can puts

Hvor som helst means anywhere or more literally wherever at all.

It is a fixed expression:

• hvor = where
• som helst adds the meaning of any / no matter which

So:

• hvor som helst i stuen = anywhere in the living room

You can think of it as the Danish equivalent of anywhere.

That is just how Danish expresses the idea. Danish often uses short phrases where English uses one word.

Examples:

• hvor som helst = anywhere
• hvem som helst = anyone
• hvad som helst = anything

So this pattern is very useful to learn.

Helst means preferably, rather, or most willingly.

In this sentence:

• min datter vil helst have dem på bordet
  means
• my daughter would prefer to have them on the table

So vil helst have is often best translated as would rather have or prefers to have.

In Danish main clauses, the finite verb usually comes early, and adverbs like helst often come after it.

So:

• min datter vil helst have dem...

Breakdown:

• min datter = subject
• vil = finite verb
• helst = adverb
• have = infinitive
• dem = object

This word order is very normal in Danish.

Because vil is a modal-like verb here, and the following verb stays in the infinitive:

• vil have = wants to have / would like to have

Compare:

• Hun har dem på bordet = She has them on the table
• Hun vil have dem på bordet = She wants them on the table

So har is a conjugated present tense form, but after vil you need have.

Dem means them and refers back to blomsterne.

• blomsterne = the flowers
• dem = them

Danish subject/object distinction here is:

• de = they
• dem = them

So:

• De står på bordet = They are on the table
• Min datter vil have dem på bordet = My daughter wants them on the table

The prepositions are different because the relationships are different:

• i stuen = in the living room
• på bordet = on the table

So:

• a room is something you are in
• a table is a surface something is on

This works much like English in this sentence.

Ved vinduet means by the window or next to the window.

• ved often means by, at, or near
• vinduet = the window

So bordet ved vinduet means:

• the table by the window
• or the table next to the window

Both are definite singular nouns ending in -et.

• et bord = a table

• bordet = the table

• et vindue = a window
• vinduet = the window

This happens because these nouns are neuter nouns (et nouns), and the definite singular ending is typically -et.

In Danish, the definite article is usually attached to the end of the noun.

So:

• bordet = the table
• vinduet = the window
• blomsterne = the flowers

This is one of the biggest differences from English. English uses a separate word (the), but Danish often uses an ending.

Because men means but, and in standard Danish punctuation a comma is normally used before it when it joins two main clauses.

Here the sentence has two parts:

1. Du kan sætte blomsterne hvor som helst i stuen
2. men min datter vil helst have dem på bordet ved vinduet

So the comma helps separate the two coordinated clauses.

Usually, yes, in everyday modern Danish stuen commonly means the living room or the sitting room.

But the noun stue can have broader meanings depending on context, such as a room or lounge in some fixed expressions. In this sentence, though, i stuen is most naturally understood as in the living room.

Yes. Both are possible depending on how natural you want the English to sound.

• vil have = wants to have / wants
• vil helst have = would prefer to have / would rather have / prefers

So min datter vil helst have dem på bordet is not just a neutral wish. It adds a preference: that is where she would most like them to be.

The sentence has two main clauses joined by men:

1. Du kan sætte blomsterne hvor som helst i stuen
2. men min datter vil helst have dem på bordet ved vinduet

A rough structure is:

• Du = subject
• kan = finite verb
• sætte = infinitive
• blomsterne = object
• hvor som helst i stuen = place

Then:

• min datter = subject
• vil = finite verb
• helst = adverb
• have = infinitive
• dem = object
• på bordet ved vinduet = place

This is very typical Danish main-clause structure.