Når toget er forsinket, venter vi i ventesalen og drikker kaffe.

Når means when and is typically used for something that happens regularly, repeatedly, or is expected to happen.

So:

• Når toget er forsinket ... = When the train is delayed ...
  • this suggests a usual or repeated situation

By contrast:

• Hvis toget er forsinket ... = If the train is delayed ...
  • this sounds more conditional or hypothetical

In this sentence, Når fits because it describes what we generally do in that situation.

This is because Danish has V2 word order in main clauses. That means the finite verb usually comes in the second position.

The sentence begins with the subordinate clause:

• Når toget er forsinket

After that, the main clause starts. Since the first position is already taken by the subordinate clause, the verb must come next:

• ..., venter vi i ventesalen ...

So the pattern is:

• subordinate clause first
• then verb + subject in the main clause

If the sentence started directly with the subject, it would be:

• Vi venter i ventesalen, når toget er forsinket.

Both are correct, but the word order changes depending on what comes first.

Toget means the train. Danish usually puts the definite article at the end of the noun as a suffix.

So:

• et tog = a train
• toget = the train

Here, toget is definite because the sentence refers to the train in the situation being discussed, not just any train in general.

For the same reason as toget: ventesalen is the definite form, meaning the waiting room or the waiting hall.

• en ventesal = a waiting room / a waiting hall
• ventesalen = the waiting room / the waiting hall

Danish often adds the definite ending directly to the noun:

• common gender nouns often take -en
• neuter nouns often take -et

So ventesalen is ventesal + en.

It is a compound noun:

• vente = to wait
• sal = hall / room
• ventesal = waiting hall / waiting room
• ventesalen = the waiting hall / the waiting room

Danish forms many nouns by combining smaller words like this, so compounds are very common.

In this sentence, forsinket functions as an adjective meaning delayed.

• er = is
• forsinket = delayed

So:

• toget er forsinket = the train is delayed

Although forsinket comes from the verb forsinke (to delay), here it describes the state of the train, so it works like an adjective.

Danish often uses the present tense for general truths, habits, and repeated situations, just like English does.

This sentence describes what usually happens:

• Når toget er forsinket, venter vi i ventesalen og drikker kaffe.
• When the train is delayed, we wait in the waiting room and drink coffee.

So the present tense does not necessarily mean it is happening right now. It can also describe a routine or typical reaction.

Because the subject is the same in both parts:

• venter vi i ventesalen
• og drikker kaffe

In Danish, when two verbs are joined by og and have the same subject, the second subject is often omitted.

So this is completely natural:

• ... venter vi i ventesalen og drikker kaffe.

You could say:

• ... venter vi i ventesalen, og vi drikker kaffe.

But that is less smooth here unless you want extra emphasis.

I usually means in, and it is used for being inside an enclosed space or room.

So:

• i ventesalen = in the waiting room

Using på would usually not fit here, because på often means on, or is used with certain places by convention, but not with a room like this.

Because kaffe is being used as a mass noun in a general sense, just like in English.

• drikker kaffe = drink coffee

You do not need an article when you mean coffee in general.

If you wanted to talk about a coffee as one serving, Danish often uses:

• en kaffe

But in this sentence, drikker kaffe simply means they are drinking coffee as a substance, not counting individual cups.

Yes, absolutely.

Both are correct:

• Når toget er forsinket, venter vi i ventesalen og drikker kaffe.
• Vi venter i ventesalen og drikker kaffe, når toget er forsinket.

The difference is mainly one of focus and structure:

• starting with Når toget er forsinket puts the condition/time frame first
• starting with Vi venter ... puts the action first

The meaning is essentially the same.

It is mainly a time clause, because når means when. But in practice, it also has a conditional feel:

• When the train is delayed, we wait...

This means something like:

• Whenever that situation happens, this is what we do

So it is a time clause that also expresses a repeated situation with a condition-like meaning.

The same Danish sentence can often work, depending on context, because the present tense is flexible.

But if you wanted to make the situation clearly specific, context would usually do the job:

• Toget er forsinket, så vi venter i ventesalen og drikker kaffe.
  • The train is delayed, so we’re waiting in the waiting room and drinking coffee.

Here, så means so, and the sentence sounds more like a concrete present situation rather than a general habit.