Pakkeautomaten ligger ved siden af kiosken, og hvis De ikke kan finde den, kan De spørge ved kiosken.

De is the formal way to say you in Danish. It is traditionally capitalized to show respect.

So in this sentence, De ikke kan finde den means you cannot find it, but in a polite, formal way.

A few useful points:

• De = formal you
• du = informal singular you
• In modern spoken Danish, du is much more common
• De is now mostly used in very formal writing, customer service language, or old-fashioned polite speech

So this sentence has a polite, service-style tone.

Danish often makes compound nouns, where English would use two or more separate words.

• pakke = package, parcel
• automat = machine, automated unit
• pakkeautomat = parcel locker / parcel machine

Then -en is added to make it definite:

• en pakkeautomat = a parcel locker
• pakkeautomaten = the parcel locker

So pakkeautomaten literally means the parcel machine.

Because Danish marks definiteness by adding an ending to the noun.

• en kiosk = a kiosk
• kiosken = the kiosk

So ved siden af kiosken means beside the kiosk or next to the kiosk.

This is very common in Danish:

• en bil → bilen
• en station → stationen
• en kiosk → kiosken

Yes, ligger literally comes from to lie, but in Danish it is very often used to mean is located.

So:

• Pakkeautomaten ligger ved siden af kiosken
  = The parcel locker is located next to the kiosk

Danish uses verbs like ligge, stå, and sidde more often than English for location:

• ligge = lie / be located
• stå = stand / be positioned
• sidde = sit / be situated in a seated-like way

In many cases, English just says is or is located, while Danish chooses a more specific verb.

Yes — it is best learned as a fixed expression.

ved siden af means:

• next to
• beside

So:

• ved siden af kiosken = next to the kiosk

Word by word, it is not very natural to translate it literally. The important thing is to recognize the whole phrase as one unit.

Examples:

• Hun sidder ved siden af mig. = She is sitting next to me.
• Butikken ligger ved siden af banken. = The shop is next to the bank.

Because pakkeautomat is a common gender noun in Danish.

In Danish, nouns are usually either:

• common gender (en-words)
• neuter (et-words)

Since it is:

• en pakkeautomat

the pronoun that refers back to it is:

• den = it

If it were a neuter noun, you would use det.

So here:

• finde den = find it

because den refers to pakkeautomaten.

This is normal Danish word order in a subordinate clause.

After hvis = if, Danish usually puts the subject first, then the sentence adverbial like ikke, then the finite verb.

So:

• hvis De ikke kan finde den
• literally: if you not can find it

This is different from a main clause.

Compare:

• De kan ikke finde den. = You cannot find it.
• hvis De ikke kan finde den = if you cannot find it

A useful pattern:

• main clause: subject + verb + ikke
• subordinate clause: subject + ikke + verb

Because this part is a main clause, and Danish main clauses follow the V2 rule: the finite verb comes in the second position.

Here the sentence begins with the subordinate clause:

• hvis De ikke kan finde den

After that, the main clause starts:

• kan De spørge ved kiosken

Since the if-clause comes first, it counts as the first element, so the verb of the main clause comes next:

• Hvis De ikke kan finde den, kan De spørge ved kiosken.

Compare:

• De kan spørge ved kiosken. = You can ask at the kiosk.
• Hvis De ikke kan finde den, kan De spørge ved kiosken.

That inversion is very normal in Danish.

It means something like ask at the kiosk or ask the people at the kiosk.

Yes, there is no explicit object, but that is completely normal. The object is understood from context.

So kan De spørge ved kiosken means:

• you can ask at the kiosk
• in natural English: you can ask the staff at the kiosk

This is similar to English, where we might say Ask at reception without naming the person.

ved often means at, by, or near, depending on context.

Here, spørge ved kiosken suggests asking at the kiosk / by the kiosk, meaning at that service point.

Compare:

• ved kiosken = at/by the kiosk
• i kiosken = in the kiosk, inside the kiosk

So ved kiosken focuses more on the kiosk as a location or service point, not necessarily being physically inside it.

One comma separates the two main parts of the sentence, and the other marks the end of the if-clause.

Structure:

• Pakkeautomaten ligger ved siden af kiosken,
• og hvis De ikke kan finde den,
• kan De spørge ved kiosken.

Danish comma rules can vary slightly depending on whether someone uses traditional comma or new comma, but in a sentence like this, these commas are very natural and standard.

They help show the structure clearly.

Yes. In modern Danish, that would usually sound more natural in everyday speech.

A more informal version would be:

• Pakkeautomaten ligger ved siden af kiosken, og hvis du ikke kan finde den, kan du spørge ved kiosken.

That means the same thing, but with informal you.

So:

• De = polite/formal
• du = normal everyday you

Yes — several very useful patterns appear here:

1. Location with ligge

   • X ligger ved siden af Y
   • X is next to Y / X is located next to Y

2. Conditional clause with hvis

   • Hvis ... , kan du/De ...
   • If ..., you can ...

3. Pronoun agreement with noun gender

   • en-word → den
   • et-word → det

4. Danish word order

   • subordinate clause: De ikke kan finde den
   • main clause after fronted clause: kan De spørge

So this sentence is a very good example of basic Danish structure in a practical, real-life context.