Kvinnan sitter på bänken och läser tidningen.

Kvinna means woman in the indefinite form, as in a woman.

Kvinnan is the definite singular form, meaning the woman.
Swedish usually adds the definite article to the end of the noun instead of putting a separate word before it.

So:

• en kvinna = a woman
• kvinnan = the woman

The ending -an appears because kvinna is a common-gender noun and already ends in -a.

For the same reason: Swedish often marks the by adding an ending to the noun.

• en bänk = a bench

• bänken = the bench

• en tidning = a newspaper
• tidningen = the newspaper

So in this sentence, all three nouns are definite:

• kvinnan = the woman
• bänken = the bench
• tidningen = the newspaper

That usually means the speaker has specific things in mind, not just any woman, bench, or newspaper.

Because Swedish normally uses a suffix for definiteness.

In English, you say:

• the woman
• the bench
• the newspaper

In Swedish, you usually say:

• kvinnan
• bänken
• tidningen

A separate word like den is used in some cases, especially when there is an adjective:

• den gamla kvinnan = the old woman
• den gröna bänken = the green bench

So in this sentence, no separate word for the is needed.

It can mean both, depending on context.

Swedish present tense often covers both:

• she sits
• she is sitting

So Kvinnan sitter på bänken can naturally mean The woman is sitting on the bench.

Unlike English, Swedish usually does not need a special progressive form like is sitting. The plain present tense often does the job.

Because the sentence describes two things at once:

• her position/state: sitter = is sitting
• her action: läser = reads / is reading

This is very common in Swedish. A posture verb such as sitta can combine with another verb to show what someone is doing while sitting.

So sitter på bänken och läser tidningen means that she is in a sitting position on the bench and, at the same time, reading the newspaper.

Because the same subject, kvinnan, applies to both verbs.

In English, you can say:

• The woman sits on the bench and reads the newspaper.

Swedish works the same way:

• Kvinnan sitter på bänken och läser tidningen.

You do not need to repeat hon or kvinnan before läser unless you want extra emphasis or a stylistic effect.

På usually means on.

A person sits on a bench, so på bänken is the natural choice.

• på bänken = on the bench

Using i would usually suggest being in something rather than on it, so it would not fit a normal bench here.

The basic structure is:

• Kvinnan = subject
• sitter = finite verb
• på bänken = place phrase
• och = and
• läser = second verb
• tidningen = object

So the pattern is roughly:

Subject + verb + place + and + verb + object

This is normal Swedish main-clause word order.

Also, Swedish is a V2 language, which means the finite verb normally comes in the second position of a main clause. If you move another element to the front, the verb still stays second:

• På bänken sitter kvinnan och läser tidningen.

That word order is also correct.

They are both in the present tense.

• sitta = to sit

• sitter = sits / is sitting

• läsa = to read
• läser = reads / is reading

A very useful thing for English speakers: Swedish verbs do not change for person.

So you use the same present-tense form with I, you, he, she, we, and they:

• jag läser
• du läser
• hon läser
• vi läser

That is much simpler than English in some ways.

It usually does both.

Sitter tells you that she is:

• located on the bench
• in a sitting position

That is slightly more specific than just saying she is there.

For example:

• Kvinnan är på bänken would sound odd in most situations, because it suggests location without using the natural posture verb.
• Kvinnan sitter på bänken is the normal way to say she is there sitting.

Swedish often prefers posture verbs such as:

• sitta = sit
• stå = stand
• ligga = lie

where English might more often just use be.