Når vi går hjem fra børnehaven, spørger min datter, om vi må lege lidt mere i sandkassen.

Because Danish is a V2 language in main clauses: the finite verb normally comes in the second position.

Here, the whole clause Når vi går hjem fra børnehaven takes the first position. So the main clause has to start with the verb spørger, and the subject min datter comes after it:

• Når vi går hjem fra børnehaven, spørger min datter ...

If you started directly with the subject, you would get:

• Min datter spørger ...

Both are correct, but they have different sentence structure because of what comes first.

Here når means when or whenever.

It is used for:

• something that happens repeatedly
• something general
• often also something in the future

So this sentence suggests a repeated situation: every time / whenever they walk home, the daughter asks this.

Da is usually used for one specific event in the past:

• Da vi gik hjem fra børnehaven, spurgte min datter ... = When we were walking home from kindergarten, my daughter asked ...

So når is the natural choice here.

Danish often uses the present tense for something that happens habitually or regularly.

So:

• Når vi går hjem ..., spørger min datter ...

means something like:

• Whenever we walk home ..., my daughter asks ...

It is not necessarily about what is happening right this second. It can describe a typical repeated situation.

Går hjem means go home or more literally walk home.

A useful thing to notice is that hjem is an adverb meaning homeward / home. Danish often uses combinations like:

• gå hjem = go home
• komme hjem = come home
• tage hjem = go home

In this sentence, går hjem is very natural. Depending on context, it may emphasize actually walking, but in everyday Danish it can also simply mean going home.

Because børnehaven is the definite form: the kindergarten.

The ending -en makes børnehave definite:

• en børnehave = a kindergarten
• børnehaven = the kindergarten

Here it refers to a specific, known place: the kindergarten the daughter goes to. Danish very often uses the definite form in cases like this where English might also say the kindergarten or sometimes just kindergarten, depending on style.

Here om means if or whether.

It introduces an indirect yes/no question:

• spørger min datter, om vi må lege ... = my daughter asks if/whether we may play ...

This is different from other meanings of om, such as about or in/around in other contexts.

Because må is about permission, while kan is about ability.

• må vi ...? = may we / are we allowed to ...?
• kan vi ...? = can we / are we able to ...?

A child asking om vi må lege lidt mere is asking for permission to continue playing, not whether it is physically possible.

After a modal verb in Danish, the next verb is normally in the bare infinitive, without at.

Common modal verbs include:

• kunne
• ville
• skulle
• måtte

So:

• vi må lege not
• vi må at lege

This is similar to English:

• we may play not
• we may to play

Lidt mere means a little more or a bit more.

It makes the request sound softer and more natural:

• lege mere = play more
• lege lidt mere = play a little more / play a bit longer

Children often use expressions like this because they sound less demanding.

Because vi means we, and here it is probably inclusive: the daughter is talking about herself together with the adult.

So she is not just asking:

• May I play more?

She is asking:

• May we stay and play a bit more?

In real life, children often phrase requests this way because the adult is involved too.

I sandkassen means in the sandbox.

Two things are happening here:

1. i = in

   • A sandbox is thought of as something you are playing in, so i is natural.

2. sandkassen is the definite form

   • en sandkasse = a sandbox
   • sandkassen = the sandbox

It refers to a specific sandbox that both speaker and listener can identify.

There are two commas for two different reasons:

1. After Når vi går hjem fra børnehaven

   • This marks the end of the initial subordinate clause.

2. Before om vi må lege ...

   • This is a comma before a subordinate clause.

A useful thing to know is that Danish has had two accepted comma systems. So you may also see:

• Når vi går hjem fra børnehaven, spørger min datter om vi må lege lidt mere i sandkassen.

That version is also common. The comma after the first clause is expected; the comma before om depends on the comma system being used.