Værtinden siger, at bordplanen kun er nødvendig, når der er mange gæster.

Værtinde means hostess or female host. The ending -n makes it definite, so værtinden means the hostess.

In Danish, nouns often add the definite article to the end:

• en værtinde = a hostess
• værtinden = the hostess

Even though the noun refers to a woman, grammatically it behaves like a normal common gender noun.

Siger means says or is saying.

Danish verbs do not change according to person the way English verbs sometimes do. So the same present-tense form is used with all subjects:

• jeg siger = I say
• du siger = you say
• hun siger = she says
• de siger = they say

So værtinden siger simply means the hostess says.

At means that and introduces a subordinate clause.

So:

• Værtinden siger, at ... = The hostess says that ...

In English, that is often optional:

• The hostess says the seating plan is only necessary...

In Danish, at is very commonly kept in this kind of sentence.

This is because Danish changes word order in subordinate clauses.

After at, the clause is subordinate, and Danish usually follows this pattern:

subject + sentence adverb + verb

So:

• at bordplanen kun er nødvendig

not:

• at bordplanen er kun nødvendig

The word kun is a sentence adverb here, and in subordinate clauses it normally comes before the finite verb (er).

This is a very important pattern in Danish:

• Main clause: Bordplanen er kun nødvendig
• Subordinate clause: ... at bordplanen kun er nødvendig

Because Danish very often forms compound nouns as one single word.

Here:

• bord = table
• plan = plan
• bordplan = table plan / seating plan
• bordplanen = the seating plan

This is extremely common in Danish. English often writes similar ideas as two words, but Danish usually joins them:

• sommerhus = summer house
• fødselsdagsparty = birthday party
• bordplan = seating plan

Because the sentence is talking about the seating plan, not just a seating plan.

Compare:

• en bordplan = a seating plan
• bordplanen = the seating plan

The definite form is created by adding -en to this noun:

• bordplan → bordplanen

Because the adjective agrees with the noun it describes.

Here, bordplanen is a common gender singular noun, so the predicate adjective stays in its basic form:

• bordplanen er nødvendig

If the subject were a neuter singular noun, you would usually use -t:

• arrangementet er nødvendigt = the event is necessary

If it were plural or definite in attributive position, you would often see nødvendige:

• nødvendige regler = necessary rules

So here nødvendig is correct because bordplanen is singular and common gender.

Because in a subordinate clause, Danish places sentence adverbs like kun, ikke, ofte, altid, etc. before the finite verb.

So:

• at bordplanen kun er nødvendig
• at hun ikke kommer
• at de ofte spiser her

In a main clause, the finite verb usually comes earlier because of normal Danish V2 word order:

• Bordplanen er kun nødvendig

This difference between main-clause and subordinate-clause word order is one of the most important things for learners to notice.

Når usually means when, and here it expresses a general situation: whenever there are many guests, the seating plan is necessary.

So the meaning is something like:

• the seating plan is only necessary when/whenever there are many guests

Hvis means if and is often used for a more open condition:

• Hvis der kommer mange gæster, laver vi en bordplan = If many guests come, we make a seating plan

In many real contexts, når and hvis can feel close, but når here sounds natural because it describes a typical circumstance rather than a pure hypothetical.

Here der is the existential there, like in English there is / there are.

So:

• der er mange gæster = there are many guests

This der does not mean there as a place. It is just part of the structure used to say that something exists or is present.

Compare:

• Der er en stol i køkkenet = There is a chair in the kitchen
• Der er mange gæster = There are many guests

Because Danish normally does not use an article before an indefinite plural noun in this structure.

So:

• mange gæster = many guests

Not:

• en mange gæster
• de mange gæster unless you specifically mean the many guests

This is similar to English, where you also say many guests, not the many guests unless you mean a specific known group.

Modern Danish does not use case endings the way German does, apart from things like the genitive -s.

Here gæster is simply the plural indefinite form of gæst:

• en gæst = a guest
• gæsten = the guest
• gæster = guests
• gæsterne = the guests

So the -er ending here marks plural, not case.

Because Danish punctuation often separates subordinate clauses with commas.

In this sentence:

• Værtinden siger, at ...
• ..., når der er mange gæster

Both at and når introduce subordinate clauses, so commas are used around them according to normal Danish comma rules.

This means the punctuation may look a bit heavier than in modern English, where commas before that are often omitted.

Yes, but the meaning would change slightly.

• værtinden = the hostess / female host
• værten = the host / male host, and sometimes a more general host depending on context

So if you specifically mean a woman, værtinden is the natural choice.