Skolen ligger langt væk, så jeg tager bussen.

Skolen is the definite form and means the school.

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

• en skole = a school
• skolen = the school

So Skolen ligger langt væk means The school is far away.

Yes, ligger literally means lies, but in Danish it is very commonly used to mean is located / is situated for places and buildings.

So:

• Skolen ligger langt væk = The school is far away
• more literally: The school is located far away

Using er here would sound less natural if you are talking about location.

Langt væk means far away.

It is made up of:

• langt = far / a long way in this adverbial use
• væk = away

Together they mean far away.

A useful thing to notice is that lang becomes langt here because it is being used adverbially, not as a simple adjective before a noun.

Because the sentence contains two main clauses:

• Skolen ligger langt væk
• så jeg tager bussen

Here så means so, connecting one full statement to another. Danish normally uses a comma to separate these clauses.

So the comma helps show the structure:

The school is far away, so I take the bus.

In this sentence, så means so / therefore.

So:

• Skolen ligger langt væk, så jeg tager bussen.
• The school is far away, so I take the bus.

But så can have other meanings in Danish depending on context, such as:

• then
• as / such
• part of expressions like sådan

So learners should not assume it always means exactly one thing. Here, though, so / therefore is the correct meaning.

Because tage bussen is the normal Danish way to say take the bus.

This works like English:

• jeg tager bussen = I take the bus
• jeg tager toget = I take the train

You may see med bussen in other structures, but after tage the direct object form is the most natural here.

Bussen means the bus, and in Danish it is very idiomatic to use the definite form when talking about a mode of transport in a familiar or typical way.

So:

• jeg tager bussen = I take the bus
• jeg tager toget = I take the train

Using en bus would usually suggest a bus in a less specific, less idiomatic way.

English often says take the bus, and Danish does the same.

Yes, tager is present tense.

• tage = to take
• tager = take / am taking / will take, depending on context

In this sentence, it most naturally sounds like a habitual present:

The school is far away, so I take the bus.

But Danish often uses the present tense for near-future meaning too, so in the right context it could also mean:

The school is far away, so I’m taking the bus.

The exact time comes from context, not from the verb form alone.

Because så here is a conjunction meaning so, and it introduces a new main clause with normal word order:

• så jeg tager bussen

That means:

• så = conjunction
• jeg = subject
• tager = verb

If så were being used differently, or if you used an adverb like derfor (therefore), the word order could change:

• Skolen ligger langt væk. Derfor tager jeg bussen.

Notice the inversion after derfor:

• Derfor tager jeg ...
• not Derfor jeg tager ...

So in your sentence, så jeg tager bussen is the correct structure.

Yes, you might hear or say Skolen er langt væk, and it would be understood as The school is far away.

However, ligger is often more natural when talking about where a place is located. It sounds more specifically about geographical location.

So:

• Skolen ligger langt væk = more natural for location
• Skolen er langt væk = understandable, but less specifically locational

Not exactly.

• langt væk is the normal everyday way to say far away
• fjern can mean distant / remote, but it is less common in a sentence like this

So for natural spoken Danish, langt væk is the better choice here.

That is why Skolen ligger langt væk sounds very normal and idiomatic.