Selvom jeg har travlt, vil jeg gerne høre hele interviewet, før jeg går på arbejde.

Selvom means although / even though. It introduces a subordinate clause:

Selvom jeg har travlt = Although I am busy

A subordinate clause gives background information and depends on the main clause. In this sentence, the main clause is:

vil jeg gerne høre hele interviewet = I would like to hear the whole interview

So the structure is:

• Subordinate clause: Selvom jeg har travlt
• Main clause: vil jeg gerne høre hele interviewet
• Another subordinate clause: før jeg går på arbejde

This is very common in Danish: a sentence often begins with a subordinate clause, followed by the main clause.

In Danish, have travlt is the normal idiomatic expression for to be busy.

• jeg har travlt = I am busy

Literally, it looks like I have busy, but that is just how Danish expresses the idea.

You may sometimes see forms related to travl, but for everyday Danish, have travlt is the standard phrase you should learn as a chunk.

Examples:

• Jeg har travlt i dag. = I’m busy today.
• Hun har meget travlt. = She is very busy.

So it is best to memorize at have travlt as a fixed expression.

This is because Danish follows the V2 rule in main clauses. V2 means the finite verb must come in the second position.

The sentence begins with the subordinate clause:

Selvom jeg har travlt

That whole clause counts as the first element. So in the main clause, the finite verb must come next:

• Selvom jeg har travlt, vil jeg gerne høre hele interviewet.

Not:

• Selvom jeg har travlt, jeg vil gerne høre hele interviewet. ❌

So the pattern is:

1. first element: Selvom jeg har travlt
2. finite verb: vil
3. subject: jeg

This is one of the most important word-order patterns in Danish.

Here, vil does not mainly mean simple future. It expresses wish, intention, or willingness.

• jeg vil høre = I want to hear / I intend to hear
• jeg vil gerne høre = a softer, more polite, more natural version: I’d like to hear

So in this sentence, vil jeg gerne høre is best understood as:

• I would like to hear
• or I want to hear

depending on context.

In Danish, vil can sometimes refer to the future, but here it is more about desire or intention.

Gerne often adds the idea of gladly, with pleasure, or would like to.

Compare:

• Jeg vil høre interviewet. = I want to hear the interview.
• Jeg vil gerne høre interviewet. = I’d like to hear the interview.

So gerne makes the sentence sound more natural and less blunt.

It is very common in Danish with verbs like:

• vil gerne = would like to
• vil gerne have = would like to have
• vil gerne vide = would like to know

It is one of those small words that learners hear all the time.

Hele means whole / entire and is placed before the noun phrase:

• hele interviewet = the whole interview

Here, interviewet is the definite form of interview:

• et interview = an interview
• interviewet = the interview

So:

• hele interviewet = the whole interview

This is the normal Danish pattern.

Compare:

• hele dagen = the whole day
• hele bogen = the whole book

You would not normally say det hele interview for this meaning. That sounds wrong in standard Danish.

Because Danish often marks definiteness by adding an ending to the noun.

• et interview = an interview
• interviewet = the interview

Since interview is a neuter noun (an et-word), the definite singular ending is typically -et.

Some basic patterns:

• en bog → bogen = the book
• et hus → huset = the house
• et interview → interviewet = the interview

So hele interviewet literally contains both:

• hele = whole
• interviewet = the interview

Før means before and introduces another subordinate clause:

før jeg går på arbejde = before I go to work

So the sentence says that the speaker wants to hear the whole interview before going to work.

Like selvom, før is a subordinating conjunction, which means it introduces a clause with its own subject and verb.

Examples:

• før jeg spiser = before I eat
• før vi tager afsted = before we leave

In Danish, gå på arbejde is the standard expression for go to work.

• jeg går på arbejde = I go to work / I’m going to work

This is an idiomatic expression. Danish often uses på where English uses to.

Common examples:

• være på arbejde = be at work / be working
• gå på arbejde = go to work
• komme på arbejde = get to work / arrive at work

Using til here would usually sound unnatural in standard Danish.

Yes, går is present tense:

• jeg går = I go / I am going

Danish very often uses the present tense for a future meaning, especially when the context makes the time clear.

So:

• før jeg går på arbejde literally = before I go to work
• but in context it may refer to something that will happen soon: before I go to work later

English does this too sometimes:

• I’m leaving tomorrow
• Before I go to work, I want to...

So there is nothing unusual here.

Because main clauses and subordinate clauses follow different word-order rules in Danish.

Main clause

Danish uses V2 word order:

• vil jeg gerne høre hele interviewet

The finite verb (vil) comes in second position.

Subordinate clause

In subordinate clauses, Danish usually has subject + finite verb order:

• selvom jeg har travlt
• før jeg går på arbejde

So:

• jeg har
• jeg går

This contrast is very important:

• Main clause: verb before subject if something else comes first
• Subordinate clause: subject before verb

Yes. Danish allows some variation, depending on what you want to emphasize.

For example, you could start with the main clause:

• Jeg vil gerne høre hele interviewet, før jeg går på arbejde, selvom jeg har travlt.

That is grammatically possible, though it gives the sentence a slightly different rhythm and emphasis.

But if you keep Selvom jeg har travlt at the front, then the main clause must follow the V2 pattern:

• Selvom jeg har travlt, vil jeg gerne høre hele interviewet...

So the position of the first clause affects the word order that comes next.

Yes, høre is completely natural here.

• at høre can mean to hear but also often to listen to, depending on context.

In Danish, høre interviewet is a normal way to say hear/listen to the interview.

Danish also has lytte, but it is used differently:

• lytte til interviewet = listen to the interview
• høre interviewet = hear / listen to the interview

Both can be possible, but høre is very common when referring to hearing audio content such as an interview, a song, the news, and so on.

Examples:

• Jeg hører radio.
• Jeg hørte en podcast.
• Vil du høre sangen?

Yes:

• Selvom = although / even though
• jeg = I
• har travlt = am busy
• vil = want to / would like to
• jeg = I
• gerne = adds the sense of would like to / gladly
• høre = hear / listen to
• hele = whole / entire
• interviewet = the interview
• før = before
• jeg = I
• går på arbejde = go to work

Structure:

1. Selvom jeg har travlt
2. vil jeg gerne høre hele interviewet
3. før jeg går på arbejde

So it is a sentence with one main clause and two subordinate clauses.