Hvis hosten ikke forsvinder, vil jeg bestille tid hos lægen.

Hvis means if.

In this sentence, it introduces a condition:

• Hvis hosten ikke forsvinder ... = If the cough doesn’t go away ...

A very common comparison is hvis vs når:

• hvis = if (something uncertain)
• når = when (something expected or assumed to happen)

So:

• Hvis hosten ikke forsvinder ... = maybe it will go away, maybe it won’t
• Når hosten forsvinder ... = you expect it to go away at some point

Because this sentence describes a possible situation, hvis is the right choice.

Hosten is the definite singular form of en hoste:

• en hoste = a cough
• hosten = the cough

Danish often uses the definite form when talking about a specific symptom or condition already understood from the context. So hosten here means something like:

• the cough
• or, in more natural English, my/the cough I have

English and Danish do not always match exactly here. English might often say the cough or my cough, while Danish very naturally says hosten.

Yes, you could say min hoste, but it changes the feel a little.

• hosten = the cough, the specific cough in question
• min hoste = my cough, more explicitly personal

In many everyday situations, Danish prefers the definite form where English might use a possessive. So hosten sounds very natural here.

Compare:

• Hvis hosten ikke forsvinder ... = very natural
• Hvis min hoste ikke forsvinder ... = also possible, but slightly more explicit/emphatic

Because this is a subordinate clause introduced by hvis.

In Danish, negation like ikke is placed differently in main clauses and subordinate clauses.

Main clause:

• Hosten forsvinder ikke.
• The finite verb comes before ikke

Subordinate clause:

• Hvis hosten ikke forsvinder ...
• ikke comes before the finite verb

This is a very important word-order pattern in Danish:

• main clause: verb + ikke
• subordinate clause: ikke
  • verb

Because Danish often uses the present tense in clauses about the future, especially after words like hvis and når.

So:

• Hvis hosten ikke forsvinder ...

literally looks like If the cough does not disappear, but it naturally means:

• If the cough doesn’t go away

and in context it refers to the future.

This is very normal in Danish. English does something similar too:

• If it rains tomorrow, I’ll stay home.

English also uses present tense after if, not will rain.

Because Danish main clauses follow the verb-second rule.

The sentence starts with a subordinate clause:

• Hvis hosten ikke forsvinder

After that, the main clause begins, and the finite verb must come before the subject:

• vil jeg bestille tid hos lægen

So the order is:

1. fronted clause
2. finite verb
3. subject

That is why you get:

• Hvis hosten ikke forsvinder, vil jeg ...

and not:

• Hvis hosten ikke forsvinder, jeg vil ...

The second version is incorrect in standard Danish.

Here vil mainly marks the future: will.

It can sometimes mean want to, but in this sentence it is best understood as a future result or intention:

• vil jeg bestille tid hos lægen = I will make an appointment with the doctor

So it does not necessarily mean a strong personal desire. It is more like:

• then I’ll book an appointment

Danish often uses vil this way in conditional sentences.

Bestille tid is a very common Danish expression meaning:

• make an appointment
• book an appointment

Literally, bestille means order/book, and tid means time, but together bestille tid is idiomatic.

So:

• bestille tid hos lægen = book an appointment with the doctor

This is the natural phrase to learn as a set expression.

Because bestille tid is a fixed, idiomatic expression in Danish.

Danish often leaves out the article in certain common expressions where English would use one. So instead of saying something that literally matches book a time, Danish simply says:

• bestille tid

This is the normal way to say make/book an appointment.

You may sometimes hear forms with an article in other contexts, but for the general idea of arranging an appointment, bestille tid is the standard, natural phrase.

After bestille tid, hos is the natural preposition.

• hos lægen = with/at the doctor, in the sense of having an appointment with that professional

Danish often uses hos with people who provide a service or professional help:

• hos lægen = at the doctor’s / with the doctor
• hos tandlægen = at the dentist’s
• hos frisøren = at the hairdresser’s

You can also say til lægen in other contexts, especially with movement:

• Jeg skal til lægen. = I’m going to the doctor.

But with bestille tid, hos lægen is the most natural choice.

Lægen is the definite form of en læge:

• en læge = a doctor
• lægen = the doctor

In Danish, the definite form is often used in everyday expressions about common institutions or professionals, especially when the exact person is understood from context.

So hos lægen often means:

• with the doctor
• at the doctor’s
• often practically with my/the doctor

It does not always mean one specific doctor already mentioned earlier. It can simply be the normal Danish way of referring to that type of professional in a familiar context.

The comma separates the subordinate clause from the main clause:

• Hvis hosten ikke forsvinder, = subordinate clause
• vil jeg bestille tid hos lægen. = main clause

This is standard Danish punctuation.

So when a sentence begins with a clause introduced by hvis, it is normal to put a comma before the main clause that follows.