Jeg lægger hækkesaksen i garagen, når jeg er færdig med at klippe buskene.

Danish often chooses different placement verbs depending on how something is placed.

Here, lægger is used because hækkesaksen is thought of as something you lay down.

A rough guide:

• lægge = to lay/put something down so it lies flat
• stille = to place something so it stands upright
• sætte = to set/place something, often onto a seat/surface or into position
• putte = to put something into something, often more informal

So Jeg lægger hækkesaksen i garagen sounds natural because you are putting the hedge shears away by laying them down.

Also compare:

• Jeg lægger bogen på bordet = I put the book on the table
• Jeg stiller flasken på bordet = I put the bottle on the table
• Jeg sætter koppen på bordet = I put the cup on the table

This is a very common Danish learner question.

• lægge = to lay/put something somewhere
• ligge = to lie/be lying somewhere

So:

• Jeg lægger hækkesaksen i garagen = I put the hedge shears in the garage
• Hækkesaksen ligger i garagen = The hedge shears are in the garage / are lying in the garage

The key difference is that lægge is an action done by someone to an object, while ligge describes the object’s position.

Danish often uses the present tense to talk about the future when the context already makes the timing clear.

So Jeg lægger hækkesaksen i garagen, når jeg er færdig... literally uses present forms, but it naturally means something like:

• I’ll put the hedge shears in the garage when I’m finished...

This is very normal in Danish. You do not always need a word corresponding to will.

Examples:

• Jeg kommer i morgen = I’m coming tomorrow
• Vi ses senere = We’ll see each other later

The time expression or context shows that the action is future.

Here når means when in the sense of a future or repeated event.

In this sentence:

• når jeg er færdig = when I am finished / when I’m done

Why not the others?

• når = when, for something expected in the future or something habitual
• da = when, but usually about a specific event in the past
• hvis = if

So:

• Når jeg er færdig, ... = When I’m done, ...
• Da jeg var færdig, ... = When I was done, ...
• Hvis jeg bliver færdig, ... = If I get done, ...

Because når jeg er færdig med at klippe buskene is a subordinate clause, and Danish spelling normally puts a comma before subordinate clauses.

So the structure is:

• Jeg lægger hækkesaksen i garagen = main clause
• når jeg er færdig med at klippe buskene = subordinate clause

Danish comma rules can feel more systematic than English here, since subordinate clauses are very often separated by a comma.

Because hækkesaksen is the definite singular form: the hedge shears.

Danish usually adds the definite article to the end of the noun:

• en hækkesaks = a hedge shears / a hedge trimmer
• hækkesaksen = the hedge shears / the hedge trimmer

This noun is also a compound word:

• hæk = hedge
• saks = scissors/shears
• hækkesaks = hedge shears / hedge trimmer

The extra -e- in the middle is a linking element that often appears in compounds.

Buskene is the definite plural form of busk.

Forms:

• en busk = a bush
• busken = the bush
• buske = bushes
• buskene = the bushes

So at klippe buskene means to trim the bushes, referring to specific bushes already understood from the situation.

Because i is the natural preposition for being or moving in/into an enclosed space like a garage.

So:

• i garagen = in the garage / into the garage

Danish often uses i where English might distinguish between in and into. The verb and context usually make the movement clear.

Compare:

• Hækkesaksen ligger i garagen = The hedge shears are in the garage
• Jeg lægger hækkesaksen i garagen = I put the hedge shears in the garage

Til garagen would mean to the garage, focusing on direction toward it, not placement inside it.

Because the noun is en garage, and its definite singular form is garagen.

Many common-gender nouns add -en in the definite singular:

• en bil → bilen
• en stol → stolen
• en garage → garagen

Danish often drops an extra vowel when adding the ending, so you do not say garageen in normal standard Danish.

This is a very useful Danish pattern:

• være færdig med at + infinitive

It means:

• to be finished/done with doing something

So:

• jeg er færdig med at klippe buskene = I am finished trimming the bushes / I’m done trimming the bushes

You can use the same structure with many verbs:

• Jeg er færdig med at spise = I’m done eating
• Hun er færdig med at arbejde = She’s done working

You may also hear:

• Jeg er færdig med buskene = I’m done with the bushes

But færdig med at klippe buskene makes the action itself explicit.

Because after med at, Danish uses the infinitive form of the verb.

So:

• at klippe = to trim/cut

This is similar to English to trim.

The finite form klipper would need its own subject and clause:

• jeg klipper buskene = I trim/am trimming the bushes

But here the structure is:

• færdig med at klippe buskene = finished with trimming the bushes

So the infinitive is required.

Yes. This is a very important Danish word-order point.

Current sentence:

• Jeg lægger hækkesaksen i garagen, når jeg er færdig med at klippe buskene.

If you move the subordinate clause to the front, the main clause must invert:

• Når jeg er færdig med at klippe buskene, lægger jeg hækkesaksen i garagen.

Notice the change:

• Jeg lægger ... becomes lægger jeg ...

This is standard Danish V2 word order: when something else comes first, the verb comes before the subject in the main clause.

Both are possible depending on context, but here trim is the most natural English choice.

• klippe buskene = trim the bushes

Danish klippe is a broad verb that can mean cut, clip, or trim, depending on what is being cut.

Examples:

• klippe papir = cut paper
• klippe hår = cut hair
• klippe buske = trim bushes

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