Når jeg er færdig med maden, hjælper jeg med opvasken i køkkenet.

When I am finished with the meal, I help with the dishes in the kitchen.

Breakdown of Når jeg er færdig med maden, hjælper jeg med opvasken i køkkenet.

• jeg: I
• i: in
• være: to be
• når: when
• maden: the meal
• med: with
• køkkenet: the kitchen
• hjælpe: to help
• færdig: finished
• opvasken: the dishes

Questions & Answers about Når jeg er færdig med maden, hjælper jeg med opvasken i køkkenet.

Why does the sentence start with Når, and what does it do grammatically?

Når introduces a time clause (a subordinate clause) meaning when/whenever. It sets up a condition in time: When I’m finished…. In Danish, anything introduced by når is a subordinate clause, which affects word order inside that clause.

Why is there a comma after maden?

In Danish it’s standard to put a comma between a subordinate clause and the main clause:

• Når jeg er færdig med maden, = subordinate clause
• hjælper jeg med opvasken i køkkenet. = main clause
  So the comma marks the boundary between the two clauses.

Why is the word order Når jeg er færdig… and not something like Når er jeg færdig…?

In Danish subordinate clauses (like those starting with når), the subject typically comes before the verb: jeg er.
The “question/inversion” order (er jeg) is for questions and some main-clause patterns, not for this kind of subordinate clause.

Why is it hjælper jeg (verb before subject) in the second part?

Because the sentence begins with something other than the subject (the whole Når… clause), Danish applies V2 word order in the main clause: the finite verb must be the second “slot.”
So after the initial clause, the main clause starts with:

• hjælper (verb) + jeg (subject)

Could I also say Jeg hjælper med opvasken i køkkenet, når jeg er færdig med maden?

Yes. If you start the main clause with the subject jeg, you get normal main-clause order:

• Jeg hjælper …
  and the når-clause can be moved to the end without changing the core meaning.

What does er færdig mean here, and why use er?

at være færdig means to be finished/done. It’s a state, so Danish uses er (present of at være, to be).
You’ll often see the pattern være færdig med + noun/verb = be finished with + something.

Why is it færdig med maden and not færdig med mad?

maden is the food/the meal (definite form), which fits the idea “finished with the meal we’re having.”
mad is more general “food (in general).”
So:

• færdig med maden = finished eating the meal
• færdig med mad would sound incomplete/odd unless in a special context.

What exactly is med doing in færdig med maden?

It’s part of a fixed construction: færdig med = finished with. It links færdig to the thing you’re done with.

Why does med appear again in hjælper jeg med opvasken?

Because hjælpe med is also a common fixed pattern meaning help with.
So the sentence contains two separate constructions:

• færdig med … (finished with …)
• hjælpe med … (help with …)

What is opvasken literally, and why is it definite (-en)?

opvask means dishwashing / the washing-up. opvasken is the definite form, used very naturally for a routine task: the washing-up (as an activity).
Danish often uses the definite form for familiar/expected things (like the washing-up after a meal).

Is i køkkenet necessary, and where can it go?

It’s optional information (location). You can place it in a few natural spots depending on emphasis:

• …, hjælper jeg med opvasken i køkkenet. (neutral)
• …, hjælper jeg i køkkenet med opvasken. (slightly more focus on location)
  Both are grammatical; Danish word order is flexible for adverbials, but the verb-second rule in the main clause still applies.

How would pronunciation trip up an English speaker in this sentence?

Common tricky points:

• Når: the å is like a rounded “aw/oh” sound; the r is soft (often not strongly rolled).
• færdig: the æ is a front vowel (not like English “air,” but somewhat close), and final -ig is often softened in speech.
• opvasken: stress on op-, and the sk can sound fairly crisp; the ending -en is reduced in casual speech.