Jeg bruger fem minutter på at finde min pung, før jeg går ud.

Here, bruger means spend, not just use.

In Danish, at bruge can mean:

• to use
• to spend time or money

So in this sentence, Jeg bruger fem minutter ... means I spend five minutes ...

Examples:

• Jeg bruger mange penge på kaffe. = I spend a lot of money on coffee.
• Jeg bruger min computer hver dag. = I use my computer every day.

The meaning depends on the context.

Because after a number, Danish normally uses the indefinite plural form.

So:

• et minut = one minute
• minutter = minutes

After fem you say:

• fem minutter

You would not use the definite form minutterne here, because that would mean the minutes, which is not what the sentence is saying.

This is a very common pattern in Danish:

bruge tid på at + infinitive

It means spend time doing something.

So:

• Jeg bruger fem minutter på at finde min pung. literally follows the Danish structure:
• I spend five minutes on to find my wallet

That sounds strange in English, but in Danish it is normal.

More examples:

• Jeg bruger en time på at lave mad. = I spend an hour cooking.
• Hun bruger lang tid på at læse. = She spends a long time reading.

So på is required by the expression, and at finde is the infinitive.

Because finde is an infinitive here: to find.

In Danish, the infinitive often appears with at:

• at finde = to find
• at gå = to go
• at spise = to eat

In this sentence, på at finde is part of the fixed structure bruge tid på at ...

So:

• på at finde = on finding / to find

English often uses -ing after spend time, but Danish uses på at + infinitive.

Because in Danish, when you use a possessive like min, you do not also use the definite ending.

So:

• en pung = a wallet/purse
• pungen = the wallet/purse
• min pung = my wallet/purse

Not:

• min pungen ❌

This is the same with other nouns:

• min bil = my car
• hans hus = his house
• vores børn = our children

Possessives replace the definite article.

Pung usually means a small item for carrying money, cards, etc. Depending on context, English may translate it as:

• wallet
• purse

For many learners, wallet is often the safest translation in this sentence.

Danish:

• pung is a general everyday word
• it does not match English purse/wallet distinctions perfectly in every case

So if the meaning you were given is wallet, that is perfectly natural.

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

Main clause word order often follows the verb-second rule:

• Jeg går ud.

But after a subordinating conjunction like før, the subject comes before the verb:

• før jeg går ud

So:

• før jeg går ud = before I go out

Other conjunctions that work similarly:

• fordi jeg er træt = because I am tired
• når hun kommer = when she comes
• hvis vi har tid = if we have time

Gå ud is a very common verb expression meaning go out.

• går = go / walk
• ud = out

Together:

• gå ud = go out

In Danish, these small direction words are very important and often work like English phrasal verbs.

Examples:

• Jeg går ind. = I go in.
• Hun går hjem. = She goes home.
• Vi går ud. = We go out.

So før jeg går ud means before I go out.

Danish often uses the present tense in places where English also uses the present, especially for:

• habits
• general actions
• near-future actions depending on context

So:

• Jeg bruger fem minutter ... før jeg går ud.

can describe:

1. a habitual action: I spend five minutes finding my wallet before I go out
2. something happening now or generally in the present situation

This is very natural Danish.

Yes, very often you can.

Both før and inden can mean before.

In this sentence:

• før jeg går ud
• inden jeg går ud

are both natural.

A very general guide:

• før is the basic, common word for before
• inden is also common and can sound slightly more like before / prior to

In everyday speech, both are often possible.

Because går is a finite verb in a full clause, not an infinitive.

Compare:

• at finde = infinitive = to find
• jeg går ud = full clause = I go out

After før, Danish uses a normal subordinate clause with a subject and a conjugated verb:

• før jeg går ud

So:

• på at finde = preposition + infinitive structure
• før jeg går ud = conjunction + full clause

That is why the two parts look different.

Yes. In før jeg går ud, Danish requires the subject jeg to be stated.

The first part is:

• Jeg bruger fem minutter på at finde min pung

Then the second part is a full subordinate clause:

• før jeg går ud

Since that second part has its own verb (går), it also needs its own subject (jeg).

English does the same:

• before I go out

So the repeated jeg is normal and necessary.

Yes. If you put the før-clause first, the main clause changes because of Danish verb-second word order.

Original:

• Jeg bruger fem minutter på at finde min pung, før jeg går ud.

With the subordinate clause first:

• Før jeg går ud, bruger jeg fem minutter på at finde min pung.

Notice:

• bruger jeg after the fronted clause
• not jeg bruger

That inversion is a very important Danish pattern.