Brandøvelsen slutter ved samlingsstedet.

Because Danish usually puts the definite article at the end of the noun.

• brandøvelse = a fire drill
• brandøvelsen = the fire drill

So -en here means the.

It is a compound noun:

• brand = fire
• øvelse = exercise, drill

So brandøvelse literally means fire exercise, which in natural English is fire drill.

Then -en is added to make it definite:

• brandøvelse = a fire drill
• brandøvelsen = the fire drill

Slutter is the present tense of at slutte, which means to end, to finish, or sometimes to close depending on context.

Here it means:

• slutter = ends / finishes

So the sentence is talking about where the fire drill ends.

Because slutter is the normal active present tense form.

• brandøvelsen slutter = the fire drill ends

Sluttes can exist, but it is often used in more formal or passive-style language, like is concluded or is ended in certain contexts. For an everyday sentence like this, slutter is the natural choice.

Ved often means at, by, or near.

In this sentence, ved samlingsstedet means something like:

• at the assembly point
• by the assembly point

It tells you the location where the drill ends.

Danish often uses ved for a point or place associated with an event. In this context, it sounds natural.

Because those prepositions give slightly different ideas:

• ved = at / by / near a place
• på = on / at, often for surfaces or certain locations
• i = in / inside

An assembly point is usually treated as a location you gather at, not something you are physically in. So ved samlingsstedet is the most natural phrasing here.

In real life, Danish prepositions do not always match English exactly, so it is best to learn ved samlingsstedet as a natural combination.

It is another compound noun:

• samling = gathering, assembly
• sted = place

So:

• samlingssted = assembly point / meeting place
• samlingsstedet = the assembly point

Again, the definite article is added as a suffix:

• -et = the for this noun

Because Danish nouns belong to different grammatical genders.

Very roughly:

• en-words take -en in the definite singular
• et-words take -et in the definite singular

So:

• en brandøvelse → brandøvelsen
• et samlingssted → samlingsstedet

This is something learners need to memorize with each noun: whether it is an en noun or an et noun.

Because in Danish, the definite article is usually attached to the noun itself.

English says:

• the fire drill
• the assembly point

Danish usually says:

• brandøvelsen
• samlingsstedet

So the idea of the is already built into the word ending.

Yes, in this sentence it is very similar:

• Brandøvelsen = subject
• slutter = verb
• ved samlingsstedet = prepositional phrase

So the structure is:

Subject + verb + place

That is straightforward for an English speaker.

Yes, but Danish follows the V2 rule, which means the finite verb usually stays in the second position in main clauses.

For example, you could also say:

Ved samlingsstedet slutter brandøvelsen.

That sounds more marked, because it emphasizes the location first. Notice that slutter still stays in second position.

So both are possible, but the original sentence is the more neutral one.

The letter ø is a vowel that does not exist in standard English.

A rough guide:

• it sounds somewhat like the vowel in French deux
• or a bit like the vowel in British English bird, but with rounded lips

In brandøvelsen, the ø appears in øvelse.

A rough learner-friendly approximation might be: BRAHN-uh-vell-sen

But that is only approximate. The real Danish vowel is different, so listening to native audio is very helpful.

It can suggest at, by, or near, depending on context.

In a sentence about a fire drill, the natural understanding is usually:

The fire drill ends at the assembly point.

So even though ved can sometimes mean near, here most people will understand it as the designated place where people gather.

Yes. It is a normal and useful word, especially in schools, workplaces, and safety instructions.

You may also see related words like:

• evakuering = evacuation
• nødudgang = emergency exit
• alarm = alarm

So brandøvelse is a very practical piece of vocabulary.

Sometimes, yes. For example, ender can also mean ends.

But slutter is very natural in the sense of an event finishing. In many everyday contexts:

• Mødet slutter klokken tre = The meeting ends at three
• Filmen slutter nu = The film ends now

So brandøvelsen slutter ved samlingsstedet sounds normal and idiomatic.