Mødet varer et kvarter.

In Danish, the definite article is usually added to the end of the noun.

• et møde = a meeting
• mødet = the meeting

So -et is the definite ending for a neuter noun like møde.

You only use a separate word like det before the noun in special cases, for example when there is an adjective:

• mødet = the meeting
• det lange møde = the long meeting

Because møde is a neuter noun in Danish, so its indefinite article is et.

• et møde = a meeting
• mødet = the meeting

Unfortunately, noun gender in Danish is something you mostly have to learn with each noun. It is best to memorize nouns together with their article:

• et møde
• en bog
• et hus

That makes it much easier to form the definite version later.

Varer is the present tense of the verb vare, which means to last.

• at vare = to last
• varer = lasts / is lasting

So in this sentence, Mødet varer et kvarter, the verb tells you how long the meeting continues.

A few useful forms:

• at vare = infinitive
• varer = present
• varede = past
• har varet = past participle/perfect

Example:

• Forelæsningen varede en time. = The lecture lasted an hour.

Because Danish normally does not need a preposition here.

With verbs like vare, Danish directly uses the duration expression:

• Mødet varer et kvarter.
• Filmen varer to timer.
• Kurset varer seks uger.

English often uses for, but Danish usually does not in this structure.

Et kvarter is a fixed and very common Danish expression meaning a quarter of an hour, that is, 15 minutes.

Here:

• et = the neuter article
• kvarter = quarter

So the whole phrase works as a time expression.

You can think of it as a chunk worth learning as one unit:

• et kvarter = 15 minutes

No. Kvarter can have more than one meaning in Danish.

Common meanings include:

• a quarter (of an hour) = 15 minutes
• a district / neighborhood / area in some contexts

But in Mødet varer et kvarter, it clearly means a quarter of an hour, because it follows varer and gives a duration.

Yes, absolutely.

Both are natural:

• Mødet varer et kvarter.
• Mødet varer 15 minutter.

Et kvarter is often a little more idiomatic and compact, but 15 minutter is completely normal too.

The sentence has the normal Danish main-clause order:

• Mødet = subject
• varer = verb
• et kvarter = duration expression

So it follows the basic pattern:

subject + verb + other information

This is very similar to English in a simple sentence like this.

Yes. Danish is a V2 language, which means the finite verb usually stays in the second position in a main clause.

So if you move something else to the front, the subject usually comes after the verb:

• I dag varer mødet et kvarter. = Today, the meeting lasts a quarter of an hour.

Notice that varer still comes second.

Not:

• I dag mødet varer et kvarter. ✘

A rough guide is:

• møde sounds a bit like MUR-thuh or MUR-dhuh, but with a Danish ø sound that does not exist exactly in English
• mødet = MUR-thid / MUR-thuhd very roughly

A few pronunciation notes:

• ø is a rounded front vowel; English speakers usually need practice with it
• the d in møde is a soft Danish d, not a hard English d
• the final -et is usually pronounced lightly

The best way to learn it is by listening to native audio, because Danish pronunciation is often less phonetic than spelling suggests.

A rough approximation is something like kvar-TAIR or kvar-TEHR, depending on accent and how detailed you want to be.

Useful things to notice:

• the stress is usually on the second syllable
• the r sounds are Danish, so they may sound different from English r
• in natural speech, the word may sound more reduced than its spelling suggests

Again, listening to native pronunciation is very helpful here.

They are closely related, but et kvarter is the standard, very common expression for a quarter of an hour.

You may also encounter:

• en kvart time = a quarter hour

But et kvarter is usually the more natural everyday choice in a sentence like this:

• Mødet varer et kvarter.

So if you are learning one version first, et kvarter is the best one to remember.

Yes, and that can be confusing for learners.

As a verb, varer is the present tense of at vare = to last.

But varer can also be a plural noun meaning goods / products / wares:

• Butikken sælger varer. = The shop sells goods.

In Mødet varer et kvarter, it is definitely the verb, because it comes in the verb position and tells you what the meeting does.

Yes. This sentence pattern is very productive.

For example:

• Mødet varer fem minutter.
• Mødet varer en halv time.
• Mødet varer en time.
• Mødet varer to timer.

So once you learn noun + varer + duration, you can use it in many similar sentences.