Rullen er næsten tom, så jeg tager en ny.

Because rullen is the definite form of rulle, meaning the roll.

In Danish, definiteness is often added as an ending:

• en rulle = a roll
• rullen = the roll

So Rullen er næsten tom means The roll is almost empty.

Næsten means almost.

In Rullen er næsten tom, it comes before the adjective tom:

• næsten tom = almost empty

That placement is very natural in Danish, just like in English.

Because tom is agreeing with rullen, which is a common-gender singular noun.

Danish adjective forms often work like this:

• common gender singular: tom
• neuter singular: tomt
• plural/definite: tomme

Examples:

• En kop er tom. = A cup is empty.
• Et glas er tomt. = A glass is empty.
• Kopperne er tomme. = The cups are empty.

Since rulle takes en, we use tom.

Here, så means so or therefore.

It connects the two ideas:

• Rullen er næsten tom = The roll is almost empty
• så jeg tager en ny = so I’m taking a new one

So it shows a result or consequence.

Because after så in this sentence, Danish continues with a normal main clause word order:

• jeg tager en ny

That means:

• subject: jeg
• verb: tager

This is normal after så when it means so in the sense of and therefore.

You may have seen inversion after certain adverbs in Danish, but not every connector causes it in the same way. In this sentence, så jeg tager en ny is the natural structure.

Danish often uses the present tense to talk about something happening right now or in the near future.

So:

• jeg tager en ny literally = I take a new one
• natural English meaning = I’ll take a new one / I’m getting a new one

This is very common in Danish. The present tense can sound more immediate and natural than forcing a future form.

En ny means a new one.

The noun rulle is omitted because it is already understood from the first part of the sentence:

• Rullen er næsten tom, så jeg tager en ny (rulle).

This works much like English:

• I’ll take a new one

Danish often leaves out the repeated noun when it is obvious from context.

Because the omitted noun is rulle, and rulle is a common-gender noun:

• en rulle

So the adjective must match that gender:

• en ny rulle
• shortened: en ny

If the noun were neuter, you would use:

• et nyt

For example:

• et håndklæde = a towel
• jeg tager et nyt = I’ll take a new one

Yes, absolutely.

Both are correct:

• jeg tager en ny
• jeg tager en ny rulle

The version with en ny is more natural when the noun has just been mentioned and does not need to be repeated. The version with en ny rulle is more explicit.

Yes, but like English take, it can be broader than physically grabbing something.

In this sentence, tage can mean:

• take
• get
• use
• grab

So jeg tager en ny could naturally be understood in English as:

• I’ll take a new one
• I’ll get a new one

Yes, it can be, but the exact meaning depends on context.

Rulle means roll, so rullen means the roll. In everyday speech, Danes may say this when the situation makes it obvious what kind of roll they mean, for example:

• toilet paper
• paper towels
• cling film

If you want to be more specific, you can name the item:

• toiletrullen = the toilet roll
• køkkenrullen = the kitchen roll

So Rullen er næsten tom is natural if everyone already knows which roll is being talked about.