Jeg tager den første, hvis den anden er for dyr.

Danish very often uses the simple present for something that is happening now or for an immediate decision about the future.

So Jeg tager den første can naturally mean I’m taking the first one or I’ll take the first one, depending on context.

If you want to make the future meaning more explicit, you can say Jeg vil tage den første, but in everyday Danish the simple present is extremely common here.

Here it means something like choose, go for, or take in the sense of selecting one option.

So in a shop, restaurant, or any situation with alternatives, Jeg tager den første means I’ll take the first one or I’ll choose the first one.

This is a very normal use of tage in Danish.

Because Danish normally uses den/det/de when an adjective or ordinal stands for a noun that is understood but not spoken.

So:

• den første = the first one
• den anden = the second one / the other one

The missing noun is implied. For example, if you were talking about two dresses, the full version might be:

• Jeg tager den første kjole, hvis den anden kjole er for dyr.

But Danish usually leaves the repeated noun out when it is obvious.

That depends on grammatical gender.

Den is used with a common-gender singular noun. Det is used with a neuter singular noun.

So this sentence suggests that the implied noun is a common-gender word.

For example:

• den første / den anden for something like kjole or bil
• det første / det andet for something like hus

The same kind of agreement also affects adjectives in some positions. So if the implied noun were neuter, you might get:

• Det andet er for dyrt

instead of:

• Den anden er for dyr

Because hvis introduces a subordinate clause, and subordinate clauses in Danish normally keep the order subject + verb.

So:

• den anden er for dyr = the second one is too expensive
• hvis den anden er for dyr = if the second one is too expensive

There is no inversion here.

Inversion happens in main clauses when something other than the subject comes first, for example:

• Så tager jeg den første.

But after hvis, you stay with normal subordinate-clause order.

For before an adjective means too.

So:

• dyr = expensive
• for dyr = too expensive

This is a very common pattern in Danish:

• for stor = too big
• for lille = too small
• for sent = too late

So den anden er for dyr means the second one is too expensive.

Normally no.

Hvis is used for a real condition: if.

So:

• Jeg tager den første, hvis den anden er for dyr. = I’ll take the first one if the second one is too expensive.

Om is usually used more like whether:

• Jeg ved ikke, om den anden er for dyr. = I don’t know whether the second one is too expensive.

So in this sentence, hvis is the right choice.

Because hvis den anden er for dyr is a subordinate clause.

In Danish, many writers put a comma before a subordinate clause like this. However, modern Danish allows two comma styles, so you may also see the sentence written without that comma.

So both of these may be seen:

• Jeg tager den første, hvis den anden er for dyr.
• Jeg tager den første hvis den anden er for dyr.

The version with the comma is very common and makes the structure especially clear for learners.

Yes, and that is a good thing to notice.

Anden can mean:

• second
• other / the other

In this sentence, the meaning depends on context. If there are two options, den anden can easily mean the other one. If you are thinking of items in an ordered list, it can mean the second one.

So the Danish form is the same, and the context tells you which English translation fits best.