Når vi skal stige af i Aarhus, minder min mor mig om ikke at glemme tasken på hylden.

Når means when in the sense of a repeated or expected situation, or something that happens at the time another thing happens.

In this sentence, Når vi skal stige af i Aarhus means When we are getting off in Aarhus / When we have to get off in Aarhus.

A learner often compares når with da:

• når = when, for present/future or habitual situations
• da = when, for a single event in the past

So here når is used because the sentence is not telling a completed past event.

Because after a modal verb like skal, Danish uses the bare infinitive without at.

So:

• skal stige af = have to get off / are going to get off
• not skal at stige af

This is like English:

• I can go
• not I can to go

Common modal verbs in Danish that behave this way include:

• kan
• skal
• vil
• må
• bør

Stige af is a fixed verb phrase meaning to get off or to disembark from transport, such as:

• a train
• a bus
• a metro

Examples:

• Vi stiger af i Aarhus. = We get off in Aarhus.
• Hun steg af bussen. = She got off the bus.

It is a very common transport expression in Danish.

With cities and towns, Danish normally uses i:

• i Aarhus
• i København
• i London

So stige af i Aarhus means get off in Aarhus.

You would use på in other kinds of location expressions, but not normally with city names in this kind of sentence.

This is because Danish is a V2 language in main clauses. That means the finite verb usually comes in the second position.

The sentence starts with a subordinate clause:

• Når vi skal stige af i Aarhus

When that whole clause comes first, it counts as the first element. Then the main clause must begin with the verb:

• minder = second position
• min mor = comes after the verb

So:

• Når vi skal stige af i Aarhus, minder min mor mig ...

If you wrote the main clause by itself, it would be:

• Min mor minder mig om ikke at glemme tasken på hylden.

This inversion is very normal in Danish.

At minde nogen om noget means to remind someone about something.

So:

• min mor minder mig om ... = my mother reminds me to/about ...

The structure is:

• minde + person + om + something / infinitive phrase

Examples:

• Hun minder mig om mødet. = She reminds me about the meeting.
• Hun minder mig om at ringe. = She reminds me to call.

In your sentence, the thing being reminded is expressed as an infinitive phrase:

• om ikke at glemme tasken

Because minde normally takes the preposition om in this meaning.

You learn it as a set pattern:

• minde nogen om noget
• minde nogen om at gøre noget

So in this sentence:

• minder min mor mig om ikke at glemme tasken

That literally works like:

• my mother reminds me about not forgetting the bag

Even though English often says just remind someone to do something, Danish keeps om.

Because in Danish, when ikke negates an infinitive phrase, it often comes before at + infinitive.

So:

• om ikke at glemme tasken = to not forget the bag

This is the normal way to say it.

Compare:

• at glemme = to forget
• ikke at glemme = not to forget

So the mother is reminding the speaker not to forget the bag.

Tasken is the definite form: the bag.

Danish often uses the definite form where English might use:

• the bag
• my bag
• sometimes even just a context-based noun

Here, the bag is clearly understood from the situation, so tasken sounds natural.

Compare:

• en taske = a bag
• tasken = the bag

If you wanted to emphasize ownership, you could say:

• min taske = my bag

But tasken is very natural when both people know which bag is meant.

På hylden means on the shelf.

• på = on
• hylden = the shelf

In this context, it probably means the luggage shelf or overhead shelf on a train.

So the full phrase:

• glemme tasken på hylden = forget the bag on the shelf

Both are possible, but they are used a bit differently.

• min mor = my mother
• mor = mum / mom, often used in more personal or direct contexts

In a neutral sentence like this, min mor is very natural.

Examples:

• Min mor minder mig om det. = My mother reminds me of it.
• Mor minder mig om det. = Mum reminds me of it.

The version without min can sound a bit more intimate or conversational.

Minder is the present tense of minde.

Forms:

• at minde = infinitive
• minder = present
• mindede = past
• har mindet = perfect participle construction

So:

• min mor minder mig = my mother reminds me

Danish often uses the present tense in situations where English may also use the present, especially for general or repeated actions.

Yes, that is close to the Danish structure, and it can help you understand the grammar.

A more literal breakdown is:

• Når = when
• vi skal stige af = we are to / have to get off
• i Aarhus = in Aarhus
• minder min mor mig om = reminds my mother me about
• ikke at glemme = not to forget
• tasken på hylden = the bag on the shelf

But in natural English, you would usually say something like:

• When we’re getting off in Aarhus, my mother reminds me not to forget the bag on the shelf.

So the literal version is useful for grammar, but not always the best final translation.