Ved billetkontoret spørger jeg, om min billet stadig gælder.

Here ved means at or by.

So Ved billetkontoret means something like at the ticket office or by the ticket office. In English we usually just say at the ticket office, but Danish often uses ved for being at a place, especially a counter, desk, office, machine, entrance, and so on.

Because billetkontoret is the definite form: the ticket office.

• et billetkontor = a ticket office
• billetkontoret = the ticket office

The noun billetkontor is a neuter noun (et-word), so the definite ending is -et.

Danish often puts a place or time expression first for emphasis or context.

So instead of starting with Jeg spørger ..., the sentence starts with Ved billetkontoret ... to set the scene first:

• Ved billetkontoret spørger jeg ...
• literally: At the ticket office ask I ...

This is very normal in Danish.

This is because of the V2 rule in Danish main clauses.

In a normal main clause, the finite verb must come in second position. If something other than the subject comes first, the verb still stays second, and the subject comes after it.

So:

• Jeg spørger ... = I ask ...
• Ved billetkontoret spørger jeg ... = At the ticket office, I ask ...

Structure:

• Ved billetkontoret = first element
• spørger = finite verb in second position
• jeg = subject after the verb

This inversion is very important in Danish.

Spørger is the present tense of at spørge = to ask.

• at spørge = to ask
• jeg spørger = I ask / I am asking

In Danish, the present tense often covers both English I ask and I am asking, depending on context.

Here om means whether or if.

It introduces an indirect question:

• Jeg spørger, om min billet stadig gælder.
• I ask whether / if my ticket is still valid.

This is different from other meanings of om, such as about, around, or in (for time expressions).

It is the same word, but not the same meaning.

• snakke om noget = talk about something
• spørge, om ... = ask whether/if ...

So in this sentence, om does not mean about. It introduces a subordinate clause meaning whether.

Because om min billet stadig gælder is a subordinate clause.

Danish often uses commas to separate clauses, especially when a subordinate clause begins with a word like:

• at = that / to
• om = whether/if
• fordi = because
• når = when

So the comma helps mark the structure:

• main clause: Ved billetkontoret spørger jeg
• subordinate clause: om min billet stadig gælder

Because after a possessive like min, the noun normally stays in the indefinite form.

So:

• min billet = my ticket
• billetten = the ticket

You do not combine the possessive with the definite ending in standard Danish.

Compare:

• min billet = my ticket
• din billet = your ticket
• hans billet = his ticket

Stadig means still.

In this sentence:

• min billet stadig gælder = my ticket is still valid

It shows that the speaker wants to know whether the ticket continues to be valid now.

Because in a Danish subordinate clause, sentence adverbs like stadig, ikke, ofte, and similar words usually come before the finite verb.

So:

• om min billet stadig gælder

Compare the word order:

• main clause: Min billet gælder stadig.
• subordinate clause: ... om min billet stadig gælder.

This difference between main-clause and subordinate-clause word order is a key feature of Danish grammar.

Here gælder means is valid.

The verb at gælde can mean things like:

• to be valid
• to apply
• to concern

In the context of a ticket, min billet gælder means my ticket is valid or my ticket still counts/can still be used.

No. At gælde is used in several common ways.

For example:

• Billetten gælder i to dage. = The ticket is valid for two days.
• Reglen gælder ikke her. = The rule does not apply here.
• Det gælder mig. = That concerns me / That applies to me.

So with tickets, it usually means to be valid, but the verb is more general than that.

Because Danish subordinate clauses normally do not use main-clause inversion.

In a main clause, you might see the finite verb in second position. But in a subordinate clause, the order is usually:

subject + adverb + finite verb

So:

• om min billet stadig gælder
  not
• om gælder min billet stadig

This is one of the most important word-order differences in Danish.

Yes, but it does not sound exactly the same.

• Ved billetkontoret spørger jeg ... puts the location first and gives it emphasis.
• Jeg spørger ved billetkontoret ... starts more neutrally with I ask ...

Both are grammatical, but the original sentence sounds more natural if the speaker wants to set the scene first.

Sometimes ved can mean by or near, but in this sentence the natural meaning is at the ticket office.

The exact English translation depends on context, but here it suggests the speaker is at the ticket office, probably speaking to someone there.

The basic version would be:

Jeg spørger ved billetkontoret, om min billet stadig gælder.

Or, if you want a slightly more natural neutral order:

Jeg spørger om, min billet stadig gælder is not correct.

The best simple version is:

Jeg spørger, om min billet stadig gælder. = I ask whether my ticket is still valid.

Then Ved billetkontoret is just extra information placed first in the original sentence.