Vi skal ordne stuen, før gæsterne kommer.

In Danish, skal often means must / have to / are going to, depending on context.

So Vi skal ordne stuen can mean:

• We have to tidy the living room
• We’re going to tidy the living room

In this sentence, it usually suggests something that is necessary or planned before the guests arrive. Danish often uses skal where English might use either must, have to, or will depending on the situation.

A few comparisons:

• Vi skal gå nu. = We have to leave now / We’re leaving now
• Jeg skal arbejde i morgen. = I have to work tomorrow / I’m working tomorrow

Ordne is a very useful Danish verb with a broad meaning. It can mean:

• tidy
• fix
• arrange
• sort out
• take care of

In ordne stuen, it most naturally means tidy the living room or get the living room in order.

Other examples:

• Jeg skal ordne mit hår. = I need to fix my hair.
• Kan du ordne det? = Can you sort that out?
• Vi skal ordne papirerne. = We need to organize the papers.

So the exact English translation depends on the object and context.

Because stuen is the definite form: the living room.

In Danish, the definite article is often added to the end of the noun instead of appearing as a separate word.

• en stue = a living room
• stuen = the living room

This is very common in Danish:

• en bil → bilen = the car
• et hus → huset = the house
• en stol → stolen = the chair

So ordne stuen literally means tidy the-living-room.

Gæsterne means the guests. It is the definite plural form.

Here is the pattern:

• en gæst = a guest
• gæster = guests
• gæsterne = the guests

Danish often marks definiteness at the end of the noun:

• singular definite: -en / -et
• plural definite: -ne

More examples:

• bøger = books
• bøgerne = the books
• stole = chairs
• stolene = the chairs

So før gæsterne kommer = before the guests arrive.

Because Danish, like English, often uses the present tense for future events when the future meaning is clear from context.

So gæsterne kommer literally looks like the guests come, but in context it means the guests are coming / the guests will arrive.

This is very normal in Danish:

• Vi rejser i morgen. = We’re leaving tomorrow.
• Hun kommer klokken otte. = She’s arriving at eight.
• Skolen starter på mandag. = School starts on Monday.

In your sentence, før plus the situation makes the future meaning obvious.

Før means before.

It introduces a time clause:

• før gæsterne kommer = before the guests arrive

So the whole sentence has:

• a main clause: Vi skal ordne stuen
• a subordinate time clause: før gæsterne kommer

Other examples:

• Spis, før du går. = Eat before you leave.
• Jeg ringer, før jeg tager af sted. = I’ll call before I leave.

It is a very common conjunction for linking events in time.

Because after før, you have a subordinate clause, and subordinate clauses normally keep subject + verb order unless another element changes the structure.

So:

• før gæsterne kommer = before the guests arrive

This is different from a yes/no question, where Danish would use inversion:

• Kommer gæsterne? = Are the guests coming?

And it is also different from a main clause after a fronted element, where Danish often follows the V2 rule:

• I morgen kommer gæsterne. = Tomorrow the guests are coming.

But after før, the basic order is simply:

• conjunction + subject + verb

Yes, absolutely.

Both versions are correct:

• Vi skal ordne stuen, før gæsterne kommer.
• Før gæsterne kommer, skal vi ordne stuen.

The difference is mainly focus:

• starting with Vi skal ordne stuen puts emphasis on what needs to be done
• starting with Før gæsterne kommer puts emphasis on the time condition

Notice the word order in the second version:

• Før gæsterne kommer, skal vi ordne stuen

When the subordinate clause comes first, the main clause follows Danish V2 word order, so skal comes before vi.

Usually stuen means the living room, but the noun stue can have a few related meanings depending on context.

Common meanings include:

• living room
• room
• in some compounds, part of a house or floor-related usage

For most learners, in a sentence like this, stuen should be understood as the living room.

You may also see:

• dagligstue = living room / sitting room
• stueetage = ground floor

But on its own, stuen very often means the living room in everyday Danish.

A rough guide:

• gæsterne sounds approximately like GES-ter-nuh
• the æ is a front vowel, somewhat like the vowel in English cat, but not exactly the same
• the ending -erne / -erne-like in fast speech often becomes weaker than learners expect

A few pronunciation notes:

• g in gæst is a hard g
• æ is an important Danish vowel; English speakers often need practice hearing and producing it
• the final -ne is usually unstressed

If you want to sound natural, the main stress is on the first syllable: GÆS-ter-ne.

In modern Danish, yes, it is normal to write a comma before a subordinate clause like før gæsterne kommer.

So:

• Vi skal ordne stuen, før gæsterne kommer.

Danish comma rules have changed over time, and you may hear about different systems, but in standard modern writing, the comma here is normal and expected.

A good learner rule is:

• when a subordinate clause begins with words like at, fordi, hvis, når, før, da, there is often a comma before it if it comes after the main clause

So this sentence is punctuated correctly.