Dataforbruget når dataloftet, og ekstraforbruget koster penge.

Because Danish usually writes compound nouns as a single word. English often separates them or uses two words, but Danish strongly prefers compounds.

So:

• data + forbrug = dataforbrug
• data + loft = dataloft
• ekstra + forbrug = ekstraforbrug

This is very common in Danish. The last part is the main noun, and the first part modifies it.

The -et is the definite article attached to the end of a neuter noun.

So:

• et dataforbrug = a data usage / data consumption
• dataforbruget = the data usage
• et dataloft = a data cap
• dataloftet = the data cap
• et ekstraforbrug = an extra usage / overage
• ekstraforbruget = the extra usage / the overage

Unlike English, Danish often puts the at the end of the noun instead of using a separate word.

You know from the indefinite form: et dataforbrug, et dataloft, et ekstraforbrug. Nouns that take et are neuter, and their definite form usually ends in -et.

A useful rule with compounds is that the last part decides the gender:

• forbrug is neuter
• loft is neuter

So the whole compounds are neuter too.

Here, når is the verb at nå in the present tense, meaning reaches, gets to, or hits.

So:

• at nå = to reach
• når = reaches

Yes, it is spelled the same as når meaning when, but the grammar shows which one it is. In this sentence, it comes right after the subject Dataforbruget, so it is clearly the verb.

In Danish, the present tense of most verbs ends in -r.

Examples:

• at nå → når
• at koste → koster

So in this sentence:

• Dataforbruget når dataloftet = The data usage reaches the data cap
• ekstraforbruget koster penge = the extra usage costs money

Both parts are ordinary main clauses with normal Danish word order:

• Dataforbruget = subject
• når = verb
• dataloftet = object

and

• ekstraforbruget = subject
• koster = verb
• penge = object/complement

So the pattern is basically subject + verb + object here.

More generally, Danish is a V2 language, which means the finite verb is normally in second position in main clauses. Since the subject comes first here, the sentence looks very similar to English word order.

Because og is joining two full main clauses:

• Dataforbruget når dataloftet
• ekstraforbruget koster penge

In standard Danish punctuation, a comma before og is normal when og links two independent clauses like this. English is often looser about that comma, so this can look unusual to English speakers.

Because Danish usually expresses definiteness by attaching the article to the noun itself.

So instead of a separate the, Danish often uses:

• forbruget = the usage
• loftet = the ceiling/cap
• ekstraforbruget = the extra usage

English uses a separate article; Danish often uses a suffix.

Penge is the normal Danish word for money. It looks plural, and historically it is a plural form, but in modern Danish it is the standard everyday word for money in general.

So:

• koster penge = costs money

This is a very natural fixed expression. You would not normally replace it with a singular form.

Not much. In compounds like these, the first part data- mainly tells you what kind of usage or cap you are talking about. The grammar is controlled by the last part of the compound.

So:

• dataforbrug behaves like forbrug
• dataloft behaves like loft

That is why the definite endings and gender follow the final noun, not data-.

Sometimes yes, but Danish strongly prefers compounds in many technical and everyday expressions. In this context, dataforbrug and dataloft sound more natural and more standard than longer phrases like forbrug af data or loft for data.

So for a telecom or phone-plan sentence, the compounds are exactly what you would expect.