Meine Mutter legt den Topflappen neben die Herdplatte, damit niemand sich verbrennt.

The basic form is legen.

Here, legt is the 3rd person singular present tense form, because the subject is meine Mutter = my mother.

• ich lege
• du legst
• er/sie/es legt

So Meine Mutter legt ... means My mother puts/places ...

Also, legen usually implies placing something in a horizontal position or simply putting it somewhere. It is a very common verb for put/lay/place.

Because Topflappen is the direct object of the verb legt.

Your sentence answers the question What does my mother put?
Answer: den Topflappen

That means the noun must be in the accusative case.

Topflappen is masculine:

• nominative: der Topflappen
• accusative: den Topflappen

So:

• Der Topflappen liegt auf dem Tisch. = The potholder is lying on the table.
• Meine Mutter legt den Topflappen ... = My mother puts the potholder ...

This is one of the most important patterns in German: masculine nouns change der → den in the accusative.

Because neben is a two-way preposition.

Two-way prepositions can take:

• accusative when there is movement toward a destination
• dative when there is location only

Here there is movement: the mother is placing the potholder next to the hotplate. So German uses the accusative:

• neben die Herdplatte = to next to the hotplate

Compare:

• Der Topflappen liegt neben der Herdplatte.
  The potholder is next to the hotplate.
  → location, so dative
• Meine Mutter legt den Topflappen neben die Herdplatte.
  My mother puts the potholder next to the hotplate.
  → movement/direction, so accusative

Since Herdplatte is feminine, the forms are:

• nominative: die Herdplatte
• accusative: die Herdplatte
• dative: der Herdplatte

So the visible difference here is really between die and der.

Here, damit means so that or in order that.

It introduces a purpose clause: it explains why the mother puts the potholder there.

• Meine Mutter legt den Topflappen neben die Herdplatte, damit niemand sich verbrennt.
• My mother puts the potholder next to the hotplate so that nobody burns themselves.

Be careful: damit can also mean with that in other contexts, but not here.

In this sentence, it is clearly a conjunction introducing a subordinate clause of purpose.

Because damit introduces a subordinate clause, and in German subordinate clauses, the conjugated verb usually goes to the end.

Main clause:

• Meine Mutter legt den Topflappen ...

Subordinate clause:

• damit niemand sich verbrennt

The verb verbrennt goes to the end because of damit.

This is the normal rule for many German conjunctions, such as:

• weil = because
• dass = that
• wenn = if/when
• obwohl = although
• damit = so that

For example:

• Ich bleibe zu Hause, weil ich müde bin.
• Sie lernt viel, damit sie die Prüfung besteht.

Because in a subordinate clause, German usually keeps the verb at the end, and other elements come before it.

So:

• damit niemand sich verbrennt

is the normal structure.

You can think of it as:

• damit
  • subject + other elements + verb

Here:

• damit = conjunction
• niemand = subject
• sich = reflexive pronoun
• verbrennt = verb at the end

In a main clause, you would more naturally get:

• Niemand verbrennt sich.

But after damit, the verb moves to the end:

• ..., damit niemand sich verbrennt.

In this sentence, yes: sich verbrennen means to burn oneself.

German often uses a reflexive structure where English may or may not do the same explicitly.

Here are useful comparisons:

• etwas verbrennt = something burns / something gets burned
• etwas verbrennen = to burn something
• sich verbrennen = to burn oneself

Examples:

• Das Essen verbrennt. = The food is burning / getting burnt.
• Er verbrennt das Papier. = He burns the paper.
• Sie verbrennt sich am Ofen. = She burns herself on the stove.

So in your sentence, niemand sich verbrennt means nobody burns themselves.

Not naturally in this exact form, because um ... zu is usually used when the subject of both actions is the same.

Compare:

• Ich lerne viel, um die Prüfung zu bestehen.
  I study a lot in order to pass the exam.
  → same subject: I study, I pass

In your sentence:

• Meine Mutter legt ...
• niemand sich verbrennt

The subject of the first action is meine Mutter, but in the purpose clause the subject is niemand. Since the subjects are different, German normally uses damit, not um ... zu.

So damit is the correct choice here.

Topflappen means potholder or oven mitt/pot holder, depending on context.

It is a compound noun:

• Topf = pot
• Lappen = cloth/rag

So literally it is something like pot-cloth.

In everyday use, it refers to the cloth or padded item you use to handle hot cookware.

Also note:

• singular: der Topflappen
• plural: die Topflappen

Herdplatte means hotplate, burner plate, or sometimes just the stovetop plate.

It is also a compound noun:

• Herd = stove
• Platte = plate

So literally: stove plate.

Its gender is feminine because the final part of the compound is Platte, and in German the last part of a compound determines the gender.

So:

• singular: die Herdplatte
• plural: die Herdplatten

That rule is very useful for compounds in German.

Because Mutter is a feminine singular noun, and here it is the subject of the sentence, so it is in the nominative case.

The possessive adjective mein- changes its ending to match gender, number, and case.

For nominative singular:

• masculine: mein Vater
• feminine: meine Mutter
• neuter: mein Kind

So meine Mutter means my mother.

Yes. German present tense often covers both:

• what is happening now
• general or repeated actions

So Meine Mutter legt ... can mean:

• My mother is putting ...
  or
• My mother puts ...

The exact meaning depends on context.

Likewise:

• damit niemand sich verbrennt can mean so that nobody gets burned / burns themselves

German does not need a separate progressive form like English is putting.

Grammatically, yes. It is correct.

A learner might notice, though, that the real-world logic feels a little unusual depending on the situation: putting a potholder next to a hotplate so that nobody burns themselves could make sense, but the context would matter. Maybe the potholder is being placed there to make it easy to grab something hot safely.

So from a grammar point of view, the sentence is fine. From a practical point of view, a native speaker might imagine a specific situation to make the purpose clearer.

Yes. Niemand means nobody / no one, and it can absolutely be the subject of a clause.

In your sentence:

• niemand = subject
• sich = reflexive pronoun
• verbrennt = verb

So the clause literally works like:

• so that nobody burns themselves

Other examples:

• Niemand kommt heute. = Nobody is coming today.
• Niemand hat angerufen. = Nobody called.

So its use here is completely normal.