Skiftebordet står ved siden af kommoden, og der ligger rene håndklæder under det.

In Danish, the definite article is usually attached to the noun as a suffix.

• et skiftebord = a changing table

• skiftebordet = the changing table

• en kommode = a chest of drawers / dresser
• kommoden = the chest of drawers / dresser

So instead of putting a separate word like English the in front, Danish often adds -en or -et to the noun.

A very useful pattern is:

• en noun → definite -en
• et noun → definite -et

That is why the sentence has skiftebordet and kommoden.

It depends on the noun’s grammatical gender.

Danish nouns are mainly of two types:

• common gender nouns take en
• neuter nouns take et

So:

• en kommode → kommoden
• et skiftebord → skiftebordet

This also matters later in the sentence when you choose pronouns like den or det.

Danish often uses position verbs where English would simply use is.

Here, står literally means stands. It is used for things that are upright or understood as standing in a place.

So:

• Skiftebordet står ved siden af kommoden
  = The changing table is standing next to the dresser

In natural English, we would usually just say is next to, but Danish prefers står here.

This is very common:

• furniture often står somewhere
• things lying flat often ligger
• things hanging often hænger
• people/objects can also sidder in some contexts

So Danish is more specific about physical position than English.

Because the towels are understood as lying somewhere, not standing.

• ligge = to lie
• stå = to stand

So:

• Skiftebordet står = the changing table is standing
• der ligger rene håndklæder = there are clean towels lying

This is a very typical Danish distinction. English often uses be, but Danish often wants a position verb.

For example:

• Bogen ligger på bordet = The book is on the table
• Lampen står på bordet = The lamp is on the table

Even though English uses is in both cases, Danish chooses different verbs depending on position or shape.

Ved siden af is a fixed expression meaning next to or beside.

So:

• ved siden af kommoden = next to the dresser

It is best learned as one chunk:

• ved siden af = beside / next to

Examples:

• Stolen står ved siden af sengen.
  = The chair is next to the bed.

• Han sidder ved siden af mig.
  = He is sitting next to me.

Here der works a lot like English there in sentences such as There are clean towels under it.

So:

• der ligger rene håndklæder under det = there are clean towels under it

This der is often called an existential der or a dummy subject. It introduces the existence of something.

Compare:

• Rene håndklæder ligger under det.
  = Clean towels lie under it.

• Der ligger rene håndklæder under det.
  = There are clean towels under it.

Both are possible, but the version with der is often more natural when introducing what is present somewhere.

Because the adjective has to agree with the noun.

The noun here is:

• håndklæder = towels (plural)

When an adjective describes a plural noun in Danish, it usually takes -e:

• ren = clean (common gender singular)
• rent = clean (neuter singular)
• rene = clean (plural / definite forms)

So:

• et rent håndklæde = a clean towel
• rene håndklæder = clean towels

That is why rene is correct here.

The singular is:

• et håndklæde = a towel

Because håndklæde is a neuter noun (et noun), the adjective in the singular indefinite form becomes rent:

• et rent håndklæde = a clean towel

Then in the plural:

• rene håndklæder = clean towels

So the pattern is:

• en ren ...
• et rent ...
• rene ... (plural)

This is one of the most important adjective patterns in Danish.

Because det refers to skiftebordet, and skiftebord is a neuter noun:

• et skiftebord
• therefore the pronoun is det

If it referred to kommoden, it would be:

• en kommode
• therefore the pronoun would be den

So:

• under det = under it, referring to the changing table

This is based on grammatical gender, not just natural English it.

Grammatically, no—at least not naturally in this sentence.

The two nouns are:

• skiftebordet → neuter → det
• kommoden → common gender → den

Since the sentence says under det, the pronoun matches skiftebordet, not kommoden.

So the towels are under the changing table, not under the dresser.

This is normal Danish word order for a new main clause.

The sentence has two coordinated main clauses:

1. Skiftebordet står ved siden af kommoden
2. og der ligger rene håndklæder under det

After og, Danish starts a new clause with normal main-clause order:

• subject: der
• verb: ligger
• rest of sentence

So the structure is very straightforward here.

You may also notice that Danish often keeps the verb in second position in main clauses, but in this clause der counts as the first element, so ligger comes right after it.

In the present tense, ligger is the same form for both singular and plural.

So:

• Der ligger et håndklæde under det.
  = There is a towel under it.

• Der ligger rene håndklæder under det.
  = There are clean towels under it.

The verb form does not change according to number in the present tense. Danish verbs are much simpler than English in that way.

It is very natural Danish.

A native speaker would absolutely say something like this. In particular, these parts are very natural:

• står for furniture
• ved siden af for next to
• der ligger to say that something is there in a lying position
• under det referring back to a neuter noun

So this is a good example of everyday Danish that also shows some important grammar patterns.

This sentence is useful because it shows several core Danish patterns at once:

1. Definite nouns as suffixes

   • skiftebordet
   • kommoden

2. Grammatical gender

   • et skiftebord → det
   • en kommode → den

3. Position verbs

   • står for furniture
   • ligger for towels

4. Fixed prepositional phrase

   • ved siden af = next to

5. Existential der

   • der ligger ... = there are ...

6. Adjective agreement

   • rene håndklæder

If you understand those six things, you understand most of what makes this sentence work.