Den gamle printer er besværlig, fordi papiret ofte sidder fast.

Because printer is a common-gender noun in Danish, not a neuter one.

Danish has two grammatical genders:

• common gender → takes en / den
• neuter gender → takes et / det

Since the noun is en printer, the definite phrase uses den:

• den gamle printer = the old printer

If the noun were neuter, you would use det instead.

Because adjectives change form in Danish depending on gender, number, and definiteness.

The basic form is:

• gammel = old

But in a definite noun phrase like the old printer, the adjective usually takes -e:

• den gamle printer

Compare:

• en gammel printer = an old printer
• den gamle printer = the old printer

So gamle here is the correct definite form.

Not exactly. This is a normal Danish pattern often called double definiteness.

When you have:

• a definite noun
• with an adjective before it

Danish usually uses:

1. a definite article like den/det/de
2. the adjective in -e form

So:

• den gamle printer

You do not normally say gamle printer by itself for the old printer, and you also do not say den gammel printer.

Because when a noun has a preceding adjective in a definite phrase, Danish normally uses den/det/de + adjective + noun, rather than attaching the definite ending directly to the noun.

Compare:

Without an adjective:

• printeren = the printer

With an adjective:

• den gamle printer = the old printer

So Danish usually prefers:

• den gamle printer not
• den gamle printeren

Besværlig means something like:

• troublesome
• awkward
• annoying to deal with
• a hassle

In this sentence, it suggests that the printer is difficult or inconvenient to use, probably because it often has problems.

It is not exactly the same as broken. A besværlig printer may still work, but it causes annoyance.

Because printer is a common-gender singular noun, and adjectives used after er agree with that.

For predicate adjectives in Danish:

• common gender singular → base form: besværlig
• neuter singular → besværligt
• plural → often besværlige

So:

• printeren er besværlig
• apparatet er besværligt if apparat is neuter

Since printer is common gender, besværlig is correct.

Because papiret means the paper, while papir means paper in a more general or indefinite sense.

Here the sentence is talking about the paper inside the printer, so Danish uses the definite form:

• papiret = the paper

Since papir is a neuter noun:

• et papir = a paper / a piece of paper
• papiret = the paper

Because fordi introduces a subordinate clause, and Danish word order changes in subordinate clauses.

Main clause:

• Den gamle printer er besværlig

Subordinate clause:

• fordi papiret ofte sidder fast

In subordinate clauses, adverbs like ofte usually come before the finite verb:

• papiret ofte sidder fast

Compare that with a main clause, where the finite verb tends to come earlier:

• Papiret sidder ofte fast

So both are correct, but the word order depends on clause type.

Literally, sidder fast means something like sits stuck.

In natural English, you would usually translate it as:

• is stuck
• gets jammed

Danish often uses verbs like sidde, stå, and ligge in ways English does not. Here, sidde fast is a very common expression for something being physically stuck.

So:

• papiret sidder fast = the paper is stuck / the paper gets jammed

With printers, this is a standard way to describe a paper jam.

Yes, fordi introduces a subordinate clause, so it normally triggers subordinate-clause word order.

That means:

• subject first
• then sentence adverbs like ofte
• then the finite verb

So:

• fordi papiret ofte sidder fast

A useful comparison:

• Main clause: Papiret sidder ofte fast
• Subordinate clause: ..., fordi papiret ofte sidder fast

This is one of the key word-order differences Danish learners need to get used to.

In modern Danish, the comma before a subordinate clause is often written:

• Den gamle printer er besværlig, fordi papiret ofte sidder fast.

Danish comma rules have varied over time and can be taught slightly differently depending on the system, but the comma before fordi is very common and standard in careful writing.

So for a learner, it is safest to write:

• ..., fordi ...

It is a borrowed word, but it is fully used as a normal Danish noun.

In Danish, many modern technical words come from English, and printer is one of them. Even though it looks like English, it behaves like a Danish noun:

• en printer
• printeren
• printere
• printerne

So the form may look familiar to an English speaker, but its grammar is Danish.

A natural indefinite version would be:

• En gammel printer er besværlig, fordi papir ofte sidder fast.

But that sounds a bit general and less natural in some contexts.

If you mean one specific old printer, the original definite sentence is better:

• Den gamle printer er besværlig, fordi papiret ofte sidder fast.

The original sentence sounds like we are talking about a particular printer and the paper in that printer.