What is it?

Present Tense and Present Continuous for the english verb sleep are: I sleep and I am sleeping.

In Danish there is no verb form to describe the Present Continuous (I am sleeping) however there are different methods to describe the same mode.

Method 1

The first verb describes the physical position of the subject (the do'er)
and the second verb is the actual action of what the subject is doing.

Danish		Literal Translation
jeg ligger og sover	I am sleeping	[I lie and sleep]
du sidder og sover	you are sleeping	[you sit and sleep]
jeg sidder og ser fjernsyn	I am watching TV	[I sit and watch TV]
vi sidder og spiser	we are eating	[we sit and eat]
de står og snakker	they are talking	[they stand and talk]
de står og venter på bussen	they are waiting for the bus	[they stand and wait for the bus]
han går og tænker	he is thinking	[he walks and thinks]

The literal translation of the Danish sentences sound quite humourous but nonetheless this is one of the Danish representations of the Present Continuous.

Method 2

Jeg er ved at gøre rent	I am cleaning

Method 3

Jeg er gang med at ordne have	I am doing the garden