Der ligger en træningsmåtte ved siden af håndvægtene i hjørnet.

In this sentence, der means there in the sense of there is / there are.

So Der ligger en træningsmåtte ... means something like:

• There is a training mat ...
• more literally: There lies a training mat ...

This der is very common in Danish when introducing the existence or location of something.

Danish often uses specific position verbs where English would just use is.

Here, ligger means lies / is lying and is used because a træningsmåtte is something that is naturally thought of as lying flat.

So Danish prefers:

• Der ligger en træningsmåtte ...

rather than simply using er.

Other common position verbs are:

• står = stands
• sidder = sits
• hænger = hangs
• ligger = lies

English usually says is, but Danish often chooses the verb based on the object's physical position.

No. Ligger does not imply action here. It simply describes the mat’s position.

So it means:

• is lying
• or more naturally in English, just is

It is a normal, everyday way to describe where something is located.

Træningsmåtte means training mat or exercise mat.

It is a compound noun, which is extremely common in Danish. Danish usually writes compound nouns as one word, whereas English often uses two words.

Parts:

• træning = training / exercise
• måtte = mat

So:

• en træningsmåtte = a training mat

This is a very typical Danish pattern.

Because måtte is a common-gender noun in Danish, so it takes en.

Danish nouns have two genders:

• common gender → en
• neuter → et

Since the head noun is måtte, the whole compound keeps that gender:

• en måtte
• en træningsmåtte

The first part (trænings-) does not affect the gender.

Ved siden af means beside, next to, or at the side of.

In this sentence:

• ved siden af håndvægtene = next to the dumbbells

A useful thing to remember is that this is a fixed expression:

• ved = by / at
• siden = the side
• af = of

But you should learn it as one chunk: ved siden af = next to / beside.

Håndvægtene is the definite plural form, meaning the dumbbells.

Forms:

• en håndvægt = a dumbbell
• håndvægte = dumbbells
• håndvægtene = the dumbbells

So the sentence refers to specific dumbbells, not just dumbbells in general.

It consists of:

• håndvægt = dumbbell
• plural ending: -e → håndvægte
• definite plural ending: -ne → håndvægtene

So:

• singular indefinite: en håndvægt
• plural indefinite: håndvægte
• plural definite: håndvægtene

This pattern is very common in Danish.

I hjørnet means in the corner.

It is definite because the speaker has a specific corner in mind.

Compare:

• i et hjørne = in a corner
• i hjørnet = in the corner

So the sentence refers to a known or visible corner, not just any corner.

In practice, it most naturally describes the whole location: the mat is next to the dumbbells, and this setup is in the corner.

So the overall idea is:

• there is a training mat
• it is next to the dumbbells
• the relevant location is the corner

Sometimes prepositional phrases can be a little flexible, but here the most natural reading is that the mat and dumbbells are located in the corner area.

Because Danish handles this differently from English.

English says:

• next to the dumbbells

Danish says:

• ved siden af håndvægtene

The definiteness is built into håndvægtene itself. Danish often adds definiteness directly to the noun instead of using a separate word like the.

So håndvægtene already means the dumbbells.

The sentence structure is:

• Der = there
• ligger = lies / is
• en træningsmåtte = a training mat
• ved siden af håndvægtene = next to the dumbbells
• i hjørnet = in the corner

So:

Der ligger en træningsmåtte ved siden af håndvægtene i hjørnet.

This is a very normal Danish word order for introducing something that exists somewhere.

Yes, you probably could, and people would understand you. But Der ligger ... sounds more natural because Danish often prefers a position verb for physical objects.

So:

• Der er en træningsmåtte ... = understandable
• Der ligger en træningsmåtte ... = more idiomatic Danish

If you want to sound more natural, use ligger here.

A few helpful pronunciation notes:

• træningsmåtte: the æ sound is like a fairly open e sound, and the word stress is mainly near the beginning: TRÆN-ings-måtte
• håndvægtene: å sounds somewhat like the vowel in law for many English speakers, and the g in vægt is not pronounced like a strong English g

You do not need perfect pronunciation at first, but it helps to notice:

• Danish compounds are usually stressed early
• endings like -ene / -ne are often less strongly stressed

Listening to native audio is especially helpful with words like these.

Yes. This is a very typical Danish sentence because it combines several common features:

• der for there is / there are
• a position verb like ligger
• a compound noun like træningsmåtte
• a location phrase such as ved siden af
• a definite noun like håndvægtene

So this is a very useful model sentence for everyday Danish.