Passagererne i metroen læser skiltene, før de går mod udgangen.

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

• passagerer = passengers

• passagererne = the passengers

• metro = metro

• metroen = the metro

• skilte = signs

• skiltene = the signs

• udgang = exit
• udgangen = the exit

So instead of using a separate word like English the, Danish often uses a suffix:

• singular common gender: -en
• plural definite: -ne

That is one of the first big differences English speakers notice.

Passagererne means the passengers, while passagerer would just mean passengers in a general or indefinite sense.

So:

• Passagerer læser skilte = Passengers read signs
• Passagererne læser skiltene = The passengers read the signs

In this sentence, the speaker is referring to a specific group of passengers, not passengers in general.

Literally, i metroen means in the metro. In natural English, though, you might often translate it as on the subway/metro, depending on context.

Danish often uses i where English might prefer in or on.

Here, i metroen most naturally means the passengers are inside the metro train/system. So even if English says on the metro, Danish still says i metroen.

Læser is the present tense of at læse = to read.

So:

• at læse = to read
• læser = read / is reading / are reading

In Danish, the present tense is often used where English might use either the simple present or the present progressive, depending on context.

Also, Danish verbs do not change for person:

• jeg læser = I read / am reading
• du læser = you read / are reading
• de læser = they read / are reading

That is much simpler than English in some ways.

Because før de går mod udgangen is a subordinate clause, and Danish normally places a comma before subordinate clauses.

So the structure is:

• main clause: Passagererne i metroen læser skiltene
• subordinate clause: før de går mod udgangen

Danish comma rules are stricter and more visible than English ones in this area, so English speakers often notice commas appearing where English might not always use them.

Because før introduces a subordinate clause, and subordinate clauses in Danish usually have subject + verb order.

So:

• main clause word order can often be verb-second
• subordinate clause word order is more straightforward: subject before verb

Here:

• de går = they go

After før, you keep that subordinate-clause order:

• før de går mod udgangen

An English speaker might expect inversion sometimes, but Danish does not do that here.

Here, før means before.

It connects two actions:

1. the passengers read the signs
2. then they go toward the exit

So før de går mod udgangen means before they go toward the exit.

Be careful not to confuse før with similar-looking words you may meet elsewhere. In this sentence, it is simply the conjunction before.

Mod means toward or in the direction of.

So:

• gå mod udgangen = go toward the exit

If you used til, that would focus more on arriving to a destination:

• gå til udgangen can sound more like going to the exit as the endpoint

In this sentence, mod emphasizes movement in the direction of the exit, which fits the situation well.

Udgangen means the exit. It is singular because the sentence is probably referring to the relevant exit in that situation.

Danish often uses the singular where English also would:

• mod udgangen = toward the exit

If there were several exits and the sentence meant all of them, then you could have a plural form such as udgangene = the exits.

So this is not a grammar rule specific to Danish; it is mainly about what the speaker wants to refer to.

Here, de means they.

That can be confusing, because Danish de can also appear as a form related to the in other contexts. But in this sentence, it is clearly a pronoun because it stands before the verb går:

• de går = they go

So the clause means:

• før de går mod udgangen = before they go toward the exit

The subject is Passagererne i metroen = the passengers in the metro.

They are the ones doing the action.

The verb is læser = read / are reading.

The object is skiltene = the signs.

So the main clause breaks down like this:

• Passagererne i metroen = subject
• læser = verb
• skiltene = object

Then the subordinate clause is:

• før = before
• de = subject
• går = verb
• mod udgangen = direction phrase

Danish does not rely much on case endings for nouns, so word order helps you identify these roles.

A rough guide for an English speaker is:

• læser: the æ is a front vowel somewhat like the vowel in cat, but not exactly the same.
• går: the å sounds roughly like the vowel in more or saw in many English accents, though again not exactly.

A very rough approximation might be:

• læser ≈ LEH-ser
• går ≈ gor / gaw

But Danish pronunciation is tricky, so these are only approximations. The most important thing is to notice that:

• æ in læser is not like English ee
• å in går is a different vowel from a

If you are learning pronunciation, listening to native audio is especially important for words like these.