Hun lægger sig på sofaen, når hun er træt.

to be

Breakdown of Hun lægger sig på sofaen, når hun er træt.

• på: on
• når: when
• hun: she

Questions & Answers about Hun lægger sig på sofaen, når hun er træt.

Why is it lægger sig and not ligger?

Because Danish separates the action of moving into a position from the state of already being in that position.

• lægge sig = to lie down, to put oneself into a lying position
• ligge = to be lying

So:

• Hun lægger sig på sofaen = she lies down on the sofa
• Hun ligger på sofaen = she is lying on the sofa

This is a very common distinction in Danish, and it does not match English exactly.

What does sig mean here?

Sig is a reflexive pronoun. Here it means herself.

So lægger sig is literally something like lays herself down, but in natural English we usually just say lies down.

You often need sig in Danish with verbs where English does not use herself/himself explicitly.

Compare:

• Han sætter sig = he sits down
• Hun lægger sig = she lies down

Why can’t it be hun lægger hende?