Min far gav mig et godt råd: læs spørgsmålet to gange, før du svarer.

In Danish, when you use a possessive word like min, din, hans, vores, etc., the noun normally stays in its basic indefinite form.

So:

• min far = my father
• din bog = your book
• hans bil = his car

You do not usually combine a possessive with the definite ending:

• not min faren
• not min bogen

That is different from English, where definiteness is built into my father in a different way.

Gav is the past tense of give (to give).

• at give = to give
• giver = gives / is giving
• gav = gave
• har givet = has given

So:

• Min far gav mig et godt råd = My father gave me a good piece of advice

This is an irregular verb, so the past tense is not formed by just adding a regular ending.

Danish often places the indirect object before the direct object, just like English can do:

• He gave me a book
• Han gav mig en bog

In this sentence:

• mig = indirect object = the person receiving something
• et godt råd = direct object = the thing given

So:

• gav mig et godt råd = gave me a good piece of advice

You can also sometimes express this with a preposition, similar to English gave a book to me, but the version here is the most natural one.

Because råd is a neuter noun in Danish.

Danish nouns have two grammatical genders:

• common gender: takes en
• neuter gender: takes et

The noun is:

• et råd = a piece of advice / a tip

When an adjective comes before a neuter singular noun, the adjective usually gets -t:

• god → godt

So:

• et godt råd = a good piece of advice

Compare:

• en god bog = a good book
• et godt spørgsmål = a good question

Yes, råd means advice, but in Danish it is often used as a countable noun in places where English prefers a piece of advice rather than an advice.

So:

• et råd = a piece of advice / a tip
• gode råd = good advice / good tips

That is why et godt råd is perfectly natural in Danish, even though in English we would usually say a good piece of advice rather than an advice.

The colon introduces the actual content of the advice.

So the sentence works like this:

• My father gave me a good piece of advice: read the question twice before you answer.

The part after the colon explains what the advice was.

This is similar to English usage. A colon often introduces:

• an explanation
• a list
• a quotation
• the exact wording of something

Here it introduces the exact advice.

Læs is the imperative form, used for commands and instructions.

• at læse = to read
• læser = read / reads / am reading, etc.
• læs! = read!

So:

• læs spørgsmålet to gange = read the question twice

Because the father’s advice is being quoted directly, Danish uses the command form.

Compare:

• Læs bogen. = Read the book.
• Skriv dit navn. = Write your name.
• Vent lidt. = Wait a moment.

Because spørgsmålet is the definite form of et spørgsmål.

• et spørgsmål = a question
• spørgsmålet = the question

Danish usually makes nouns definite by adding an ending to the noun:

• en bog → bogen
• et hus → huset
• et spørgsmål → spørgsmålet

So in the sentence:

• læs spørgsmålet = read the question

Because after a number greater than one, Danish normally uses the plural form.

• en gang = one time / once
• to gange = two times / twice
• tre gange = three times

So:

• læs spørgsmålet to gange = read the question twice

Even though English often uses special words like once and twice, Danish commonly uses en gang, to gange, and so on.

Because før du svarer is a subordinate clause, and subordinate clauses in Danish usually have different word order from main clauses.

Main clause:

• Du svarer. = You answer.

Subordinate clause after før:

• før du svarer = before you answer

In Danish, the typical subordinate-clause order is:

• conjunction + subject + verb

So:

• før du svarer
• når han kommer
• fordi jeg er træt

This is an important pattern in Danish grammar.

Because læs is an imperative, not an infinitive.

• at læse = to read
• læs = read!

The word at is used with the infinitive, like English to:

• Jeg vil gerne læse. = I would like to read.
• Det er vigtigt at svare. = It is important to answer.

But in commands, Danish uses the bare imperative form:

• Læs spørgsmålet.
• Svar roligt.
• Vent lidt.

So at would be wrong here.

Yes. Svarer is present tense, and that is normal here.

The first part tells us what happened in the past:

• Min far gav mig et godt råd = My father gave me a good piece of advice

After the colon, we get the advice itself exactly as it was said:

• læs spørgsmålet to gange, før du svarer

That advice is stated in its normal form, not shifted into the past. English does the same:

• My father gave me some advice: read the question twice before you answer.

So the tense change is completely natural.

Very often, yes, but it depends on the structure.

Here:

• før du svarer = before you answer

So før is a conjunction introducing a clause.

It can also appear in other contexts, for example in comparisons or time expressions. But in this sentence, the meaning is straightforwardly before.

A useful thing to remember is that før is often followed by a clause:

• før jeg går
• før vi spiser
• før du svarer

A native English speaker might especially notice these:

• far: the a is longer and more open than in many English words
• råd: the å sound is important; it does not sound like English road
• læs: the vowel is not the same as English less
• spørgsmålet: this is the hardest word for many learners because of the consonant cluster and the vowel sounds
• svarer: the r affects the vowel quality in a typically Danish way

A practical tip: don’t try to pronounce every letter exactly as in spelling. Danish pronunciation is often less transparent than English learners expect. It helps to learn the whole sentence by ear as a chunk:

• Min far gav mig et godt råd
• læs spørgsmålet to gange
• før du svarer

That is often easier than building the pronunciation one word at a time.