Metroen er hurtig, når jeg skal til universitetet.

Metroen means the metro.

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

• en metro = a metro
• metroen = the metro

So Metroen er hurtig literally means The metro is fast.

The noun metro is a common gender noun, which is why the definite ending is -en.

Because hurtig agrees with metroen, which is a common gender singular noun.

When an adjective comes after er and describes a common gender singular noun, it usually stays in its basic form:

• Metroen er hurtig = The metro is fast

You would use hurtigt with a neuter singular noun or as an adverb:

• Toget er hurtigt = The train is fast
• Han løber hurtigt = He runs quickly

So here hurtig is correct because metroen is not neuter.

Here når means when.

Danish usually uses:

• når for something that happens regularly, normally, or is expected
• hvis for a more uncertain if

So:

• Metroen er hurtig, når jeg skal til universitetet
  = The metro is fast when I need to go to the university / when I’m going to the university

This suggests a recurring or normal situation.

Compare:

• når jeg skal til universitetet = when I go / when I have to go to the university
• hvis jeg skal til universitetet = if I need to go to the university

In this sentence, skal can feel like have to go, need to go, or sometimes simply am going to, depending on context.

Normally, skulle is a modal verb meaning things like:

• shall
• must
• have to
• be supposed to

But in Danish, skal is often used in everyday speech with a destination to mean that someone is going somewhere for a purpose or because they need to.

So jeg skal til universitetet can mean:

• I have to go to the university
• I’m going to the university

The exact nuance depends on the situation.

Til means to and shows movement toward a place.

So:

• til universitetet = to the university

This is different from a location word like på or i, which would describe being somewhere rather than moving there.

Compare:

• jeg skal til universitetet = I’m going to the university
• jeg er på universitetet = I’m at the university

So til is used because the sentence is about travel to a destination.

Universitetet is the definite form, meaning the university.

• et universitet = a university
• universitetet = the university

In this sentence, the speaker is talking about a specific destination, so the definite form is natural.

This is different from some English uses like British go to university, where no article is used. Danish does not match English exactly here, and til universitetet refers more naturally to going to that place.

Because når introduces a subordinate clause.

In Danish:

• Main clauses usually follow the verb-second pattern.
• Subordinate clauses do not use that same pattern.

So:

• Metroen er hurtig = main clause
• når jeg skal til universitetet = subordinate clause

Inside the subordinate clause, the normal order is:

• conjunction + subject + verb + other elements

So:

• når
  • jeg
    • skal
      • til universitetet

If you put the når clause first, the main clause changes word order:

• Når jeg skal til universitetet, er metroen hurtig.

Notice that er comes before metroen in the main clause after the fronted subordinate clause.

Yes. That is completely correct.

It means the same thing, but the emphasis changes slightly.

• Metroen er hurtig, når jeg skal til universitetet
  starts with the metro
• Når jeg skal til universitetet, er metroen hurtig
  starts with when I go to the university

So the second version highlights the time or situation first.

This is a very common kind of word order change in Danish.

Here it means fast.

When talking about transport like a metro, train, or car, hurtig usually means that it moves efficiently or gets you somewhere in less time.

So:

• Metroen er hurtig = The metro is fast

In other contexts, hurtig can also correspond to quick, but with transportation fast is the most natural translation.

Usually, yes.

In Danish, metroen refers to the metro system, especially an urban rail network. In English, the best translation depends on the variety of English:

• the metro
• the subway
• sometimes the underground in some contexts

So the Danish word itself is straightforward, but the best English equivalent can vary depending on where the learner is from.