Hvis jeg tager metroen, kan jeg komme til tiden.

Hvis means if and introduces a condition:

• Hvis jeg tager metroen = If I take the metro

It tells you that the second part depends on the first part being true.

A learner might compare hvis with når:

• hvis = if (conditional)
• når = when (when something is expected to happen)

So here, hvis is correct because the speaker is talking about a possibility or condition, not a certain future event.

Tager is the present tense of tage (to take).

• at tage = to take
• jeg tager = I take / I am taking

In Danish, after the subject jeg, you normally need the finite verb form in a full clause:

• jeg tager metroen

You would use tage after another verb or with at, for example:

• jeg vil tage metroen = I want to take the metro
• det er godt at tage metroen = it is good to take the metro

Metroen is the definite form of metro and means the metro.

In Danish, the definite article is often attached to the end of the noun:

• en metro = a metro
• metroen = the metro

So:

• jeg tager metroen = I take the metro

This is very natural in Danish when talking about a specific means of transport in a general real-world sense, much like English often says the bus, the train, the metro.

Because Danish usually puts the definite article at the end of the noun instead of using a separate word before it.

Examples:

• bilen = the car
• toget = the train
• metroen = the metro

This is one of the big differences from English.
English: the metro
Danish: metroen

There are cases where Danish also uses a separate definite word, but that usually happens with adjectives:

• den nye metro = the new metro

Without an adjective, metroen by itself is enough.

This is because Danish is a V2 language. In main clauses, the finite verb usually comes in the second position.

The sentence begins with the if-clause:

• Hvis jeg tager metroen

After that, the main clause starts, and the finite verb must come before the subject:

• kan jeg komme til tiden

So the structure is:

• condition first
• then main clause with verb + subject

Compare:

• Jeg kan komme til tiden, hvis jeg tager metroen.
• Hvis jeg tager metroen, kan jeg komme til tiden.

Both are correct. The word order changes because the sentence starts with the conditional clause.

Here kan means something like can / will be able to / may be able to.

• kan jeg komme til tiden = I can get there on time / I’ll be able to arrive on time

It expresses possibility or ability, not permission.

So in this sentence, the idea is:

• taking the metro makes it possible for me to arrive on time

Komme til tiden is a very common expression meaning arrive on time or be on time.

Breakdown:

• komme = come / get / arrive
• til tiden = on time

Together:

• komme til tiden = to make it on time / to arrive on time

This is an idiomatic phrase, so it is best to learn it as a set expression.

Related phrase:

• for sent = too late / late
  
  • Jeg kommer for sent. = I am arriving late.

The comma separates the if-clause from the main clause:

• Hvis jeg tager metroen,
• kan jeg komme til tiden.

In Danish, commas are commonly used to mark this kind of clause boundary. It helps show where the condition ends and the main statement begins.

Even if comma rules can vary in detail depending on writing style or school tradition, this comma is very normal and helpful here.

It is both:

• literally, tage metroen = take the metro
• naturally, it functions like English go by metro / take the metro

Danish often uses tage with transport:

• tage bussen = take the bus
• tage toget = take the train
• tage metroen = take the metro

So this is the normal, everyday way to say it.

Grammatically, yes, but it would usually sound less natural in this context.

• metroen = the metro
• en metro = a metro

With public transport, Danish often uses the definite form when talking about the transport system or the usual service:

• jeg tager metroen = I take the metro

Using en metro might sound like you mean one metro train among others, which is less likely in a normal sentence like this.

So metroen is the natural choice.

In form, the verbs are in the present tense:

• tager
• kan

But in meaning, the sentence often refers to the future:

• If I take the metro, I can get there on time

This is very normal in both Danish and English. Present tense can be used for future situations when the meaning is clear from context.

So a more explicit English version might be:

• If I take the metro, I’ll be able to get there on time.

Yes. A very common alternative is:

• Jeg kan komme til tiden, hvis jeg tager metroen.

This means the same thing: I can get there on time if I take the metro.

The difference is mainly focus:

• Hvis jeg tager metroen, kan jeg komme til tiden.
  starts with the condition
• Jeg kan komme til tiden, hvis jeg tager metroen.
  starts with the result

Both are natural.

A careful pronunciation would be close to:

• Hvis jeg tager metroen, kan jeg komme til tiden.

A few useful pronunciation notes:

• hvis: the h is often weak or silent in normal speech
• jeg: often sounds more like yai / yai̯ than a strong English-style yeg
• tager: the g is soft
• metroen: the ending -en is the definite ending
• kan: in everyday speech it may be reduced
• til tiden: the two words often run together smoothly

You do not need perfect pronunciation right away, but it helps to know that spoken Danish is often much softer and more reduced than the spelling suggests.