Jeg tænder kameraet, før læreren begynder at tale.

Tænder is the present tense form of the verb at tænde.

• at tænde = to turn on / to switch on / to light
• jeg tænder = I turn on / I am turning on

So:

• Jeg tænder kameraet = I turn on the camera

Danish present tense is often very simple: many verbs take -r in the present.

• at begynde → begynder
• at tale stays infinitive after at

So tænde is the dictionary form, while tænder is the form that matches jeg in this sentence.

Kameraet means the camera.

In Danish, the definite article is often added to the end of the noun instead of being a separate word like English the.

• et kamera = a camera
• kameraet = the camera

This noun is a neuter noun because it takes et in the indefinite form. Neuter singular nouns usually take -et in the definite form.

So:

• Jeg tænder kameraet = I turn on the camera
• Jeg tænder et kamera = I turn on a camera

Læreren means the teacher.

The basic noun is:

• en lærer = a teacher

Since lærer is a common gender noun (it takes en), the definite singular form is usually made with -en:

• en lærer = a teacher
• læreren = the teacher

So:

• før læreren begynder = before the teacher begins

Før means before.

Here it introduces a clause:

• før læreren begynder at tale = before the teacher begins to speak

So the whole sentence is divided like this:

• Jeg tænder kameraet = main clause
• før læreren begynder at tale = subordinate clause introduced by før

English works similarly:

• I turn on the camera before the teacher begins to speak.

Because Danish often uses at + infinitive after verbs like begynde.

• at begynde = to begin
• at tale = to speak

So:

• begynder at tale = begins to speak

This is very close to English. Compare:

• The teacher begins to speak
• Læreren begynder at tale

The word at here is the infinitive marker, like English to.

Yes, but it means something slightly different.

• før læreren begynder at tale = before the teacher starts speaking
• før læreren taler = before the teacher speaks

The version with begynder at tale focuses on the start of the speaking. It is a bit more precise.

So if the idea is I turn on the camera before the teacher starts talking, then begynder at tale is a very natural choice.

The sentence has a normal main clause + subordinate clause structure:

• Jeg tænder kameraet = main clause
• før læreren begynder at tale = subordinate clause

In the main clause, Danish usually follows V2 word order, meaning the finite verb comes early:

• Jeg = subject
• tænder = finite verb
• kameraet = object

In the subordinate clause introduced by før, the word order is not the same as main-clause V2. In this example, it looks similar to English:

• læreren = subject
• begynder = finite verb
• at tale = infinitive phrase

You do not see a big difference here because there is no adverb like ikke. But compare:

• Main clause: Læreren begynder ikke at tale
• Subordinate clause: før læreren ikke begynder at tale
  (grammatically showing subordinate order, though semantically odd)

So the sentence is a good example of a clause introduced by før, even if the word order looks simple.

Not always. At tænde can also mean light or ignite, depending on context.

For example:

• tænde lyset = turn on the light
• tænde et stearinlys = light a candle
• tænde kameraet = turn on the camera

So the core idea is something like switch on / set alight / activate, and the exact English translation depends on what is being turned on or lit.

The letter æ is a vowel that does not exist in quite the same way in standard English.

A rough guide:

• æ sounds somewhat like the vowel in English cat for many learners, though not exactly the same.
• tænder is roughly something like TEN-ər with a Danish-style vowel
• læreren begins with that same æ sound

A few extra pronunciation notes:

• jeg is often pronounced more like yai / yaiy or yai depending on speech style, not exactly how it looks
• før has the Danish ø, which is another vowel English lacks
• begynder has a soft Danish rhythm that may sound less sharply pronounced than in English

For a beginner, the most useful thing is to notice that æ is a separate vowel sound and to imitate native audio rather than rely only on English spelling.

Yes. Danish allows that, and then the word order in the main clause changes because of V2.

Original:

• Jeg tænder kameraet, før læreren begynder at tale.

Fronted subordinate clause:

• Før læreren begynder at tale, tænder jeg kameraet.

Notice the difference:

• not Før læreren begynder at tale, jeg tænder kameraet
• but Før læreren begynder at tale, tænder jeg kameraet

That happens because when something else takes the first position in a Danish main clause, the finite verb usually comes before the subject.

It could be either. Danish present tense often covers both meanings, depending on context.

It can mean:

• a habit: I turn on the camera before the teacher starts speaking
• a current/future situation: I’m turning on the camera before the teacher starts speaking

Danish does not always mark the difference as clearly as English sometimes does. The context tells you which meaning is intended.