Depositummet skal betales, før hun får nøglekortet.

Depositum is the basic noun, meaning deposit or security deposit.
Depositummet is the definite singular form, so it means the deposit.

Danish usually adds a definite ending to the noun itself:

• et depositum = a deposit
• depositummet = the deposit

So in this sentence, it is talking about a specific deposit that must be paid.

Because skal betales is passive and means must be paid.

Compare:

• Hun skal betale depositummet. = She must pay the deposit.
  
  • This is active: hun is doing the action.
• Depositummet skal betales. = The deposit must be paid.
  
  • This is passive: the focus is on the deposit, not on who pays it.

So the sentence is built around depositummet as the subject, which is why the passive form is used.

The -s marks the passive voice in Danish.

So:

• at betale = to pay
• betales = be paid / is paid

Danish often uses this -s passive, especially in more formal or written language. In English, we usually use be + past participle instead:

• Danish: skal betales
• English: must be paid

Because Danish often uses the present tense to talk about the future, especially when the future meaning is already clear from the context.

Here, før hun får nøglekortet literally looks like before she gets the key card, but in context it means before she gets / can get the key card in the future.

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

• I’ll call you before I leave.
• not usually before I will leave

So Danish før hun får nøglekortet works the same way.

Because før introduces a subordinate clause, and subordinate clauses in Danish do not use normal main-clause verb-second word order.

Main clause:

• Hun får nøglekortet. = She gets the key card.

Subordinate clause after før:

• før hun får nøglekortet = before she gets the key card

So after før, the subject hun comes before the verb får.

This is one of the most important Danish word-order patterns to learn:

• main clause: verb usually comes second
• subordinate clause: subject usually comes before the verb

Because hun is the subject form of she, while hende is the object form of her.

In før hun får nøglekortet, hun is the one doing the action of getting the key card, so Danish uses the subject form:

• hun = she
• hende = her

Compare:

• Hun får nøglekortet. = She gets the key card.
• Jeg giver hende nøglekortet. = I give her the key card.

Nøglekortet means the key card.

It is a compound noun:

• nøgle = key
• kort = card
• nøglekort = key card
• nøglekortet = the key card

This is very common in Danish: two nouns are joined into one word, and then the definite ending is added to the end.

So the structure is:

• nøgle + kort + et
• nøglekortet

Sometimes yes, but før is the most straightforward choice here.

Før means before and commonly introduces clauses:

• før hun får nøglekortet = before she gets the key card

You may also hear inden in similar sentences, but før is very natural and standard here.

A useful guideline is:

• før = very common for before
• inden = often also means before, sometimes with a slight sense of before a deadline/time limit

In this sentence, før is the safest and most natural choice for most learners.

Here skal is best understood as must.

So:

• Depositummet skal betales = The deposit must be paid

Depending on context, skal can sometimes be translated as:

• shall
• must
• is supposed to
• is to

But in practical English, must be paid is the most natural translation here.

Because før hun får nøglekortet is a subordinate clause, and some Danish comma styles put a comma before subordinate clauses.

So this sentence is written with a start comma:

• Depositummet skal betales, før hun får nøglekortet.

You may also see:

• Depositummet skal betales før hun får nøglekortet.

Both can be correct, depending on which comma system is being followed. So as a learner, you should not be surprised to see either version.