Har De set, om der ligger en ledig træningsmåtte i hjørnet, eller skal jeg vente til senere?

De is the formal form of you in Danish. It is traditionally capitalized to show respect.

So in this sentence:

• Har De set ... ? = Have you seen ... ? in a polite/formal way

A native speaker would much more often say du in everyday conversation:

• Har du set ... ?

A few useful related forms are:

• De = formal you (subject)
• Dem = formal you (object)
• Deres = formal your

This formal style can sound polite, distant, old-fashioned, or customer-service-like depending on context.

Har De set is the present perfect in Danish:

• har = have
• set = seen

So structurally it is:

• Har De set ... ? = Have you seen ... ?

This is the normal way to ask whether someone has noticed or observed something at some point up to now.

Compare:

• Ser De ... ? = Do you see ... ? / Are you seeing ... ?
• Har De set ... ? = Have you seen ... ?

The second one fits better when asking whether the person has already checked or noticed something.

Here om means whether or if.

So:

• Har De set, om der ligger ... ?
• = Have you seen whether/if there is ... ?

This is a very common use of om in Danish: it introduces an indirect yes/no question.

Examples:

• Jeg ved ikke, om han kommer. = I don’t know if/whether he is coming.
• Kan du se, om døren er åben? = Can you see if the door is open?

Important: this is not the same om as in meanings like about, around, or in (time expressions).

In this sentence, der is an existential or dummy subject, similar to English there in:

• There is a free exercise mat ...

So:

• der ligger en ledig træningsmåtte
• literally: there lies a free exercise mat
• natural English: there is a free exercise mat

Danish often uses der in sentences that introduce the existence or presence of something.

Compare:

• Der er en stol i rummet. = There is a chair in the room.
• Der står en kop på bordet. = There is a cup on the table.
• Der ligger en måtte i hjørnet. = There is a mat in the corner.

Det would not work the same way here. Det usually refers to a specific thing already known, while der introduces something that exists or is present somewhere.

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

Here, ligger is used because a mat is thought of as something that lies flat.

So:

• der ligger en ledig træningsmåtte i hjørnet
• literally: there lies a free exercise mat in the corner
• natural English: there is a free exercise mat in the corner

This is very normal in Danish.

Common position verbs include:

• ligge = lie
• stå = stand
• sidde = sit

Examples:

• Bogen ligger på bordet. = The book is on the table.
• Flasken står på bordet. = The bottle is on the table.
• Billedet hænger på væggen. = The picture is on the wall.

So ligger is not strange or overly literal here; it is the natural Danish choice for a mat.

Ledig means free, available, or unoccupied, depending on context.

In this sentence, en ledig træningsmåtte means:

• a free/available exercise mat

It suggests a mat that is not currently being used.

Other common uses of ledig:

• en ledig stol = an empty/free chair
• et ledigt værelse = an available room
• at være ledig = to be free / available
• at være arbejdsløs/ledig can also mean to be unemployed in some contexts

So the exact translation depends on what is being described.

Træningsmåtte is a compound noun, which is extremely common in Danish.

It is made from:

• træning = training/exercise
• måtte = mat

Together:

• træningsmåtte = exercise mat / training mat

Danish usually writes compound nouns as one word, where English often uses two words.

More examples:

• sportscenter = sports center
• kaffekop = coffee cup
• badeværelse = bathroom

A useful rule: if English has a noun + noun combination, Danish will often combine it into one word.

I hjørnet means in the corner.

• i = in
• hjørnet = the corner

This is the normal expression when something is located within the corner area of a room.

Compare:

• i hjørnet = in the corner
• på hjørnet = on the corner (often used for streets/buildings, as in the shop on the corner)

So in a room, i hjørnet is exactly what you would expect.

Hjørne is a neuter noun (et hjørne = a corner).

In Danish, the definite article is usually added as an ending:

• et hjørne = a corner
• hjørnet = the corner

So:

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

This is one of the basic noun patterns in Danish:

• common gender: en stol → stolen
• neuter: et bord → bordet

Since hjørne is neuter, it becomes hjørnet.

Because om introduces a subordinate clause, and Danish subordinate clauses normally keep the subject before the finite verb.

So:

• om der ligger en ledig træningsmåtte ...
• literally: whether there lies a free exercise mat ...

This is normal subordinate-clause word order.

Compare the difference:

Main clause:

• Der ligger en træningsmåtte i hjørnet.

Subordinate clause:

• ... om der ligger en træningsmåtte i hjørnet.

Danish main clauses often have verb-second word order, but subordinate clauses do not follow that same pattern.

Skal jeg vente? literally means Shall I wait?, but in modern English the most natural translation is often:

• Should I wait?
• Am I supposed to wait?

So in this sentence:

• eller skal jeg vente til senere?
• = or should I wait until later?

Here skal expresses something like necessity, expectation, or what the speaker ought to do next.

Compare:

• Jeg skal vente. = I have to / am supposed to wait.
• Skal jeg vente? = Should I wait?

Both are possible in Danish, but til senere gives the idea of until later or for a later time.

So:

• vente til senere = wait until later
• vente senere would sound less natural in this context

The phrase suggests postponing the action.

Examples:

• Vi kan gemme det til senere. = We can save it for later.
• Skal jeg komme tilbage senere? = Should I come back later?

In your sentence, til senere works well because the speaker is wondering whether they need to postpone using the mat.

The commas separate the main parts of the sentence.

• Har De set, om der ligger en ledig træningsmåtte i hjørnet, eller skal jeg vente til senere?

The first comma comes before the subordinate clause introduced by om:

• Har De set, om ...

The second comma comes before eller, which joins two clauses:

• ..., eller skal jeg vente ...

Danish comma rules can vary a bit depending on style and whether someone follows traditional comma or new comma, but commas before subordinate clauses are very common in learning materials and formal writing.

Yes, absolutely. In most everyday situations, that would actually be more common.

Informal version:

• Har du set, om der ligger en ledig træningsmåtte i hjørnet, eller skal jeg vente til senere?

This means the same thing, just with informal you.

So the difference is mainly tone:

• De = formal/polite/distant
• du = normal everyday informal Danish

For most modern spoken Danish, du is the default choice.

Yes, it is understandable and natural, especially in a polite context. It sounds like someone asking whether a free mat is available and whether they should wait.

A slightly less formal version with du would probably be more common in everyday speech:

• Har du set, om der ligger en ledig træningsmåtte i hjørnet, eller skal jeg vente til senere?

You might also hear alternatives such as:

• Ved du, om der er en ledig træningsmåtte i hjørnet? = Do you know if there’s a free exercise mat in the corner?

This version uses er instead of ligger, which is also possible, though ligger is still very idiomatic for a mat.