Jeg kan ikke finde min bilnøgle, så jeg tjekker tasken og bagagerummet igen.

In a normal main clause, Danish usually puts the finite verb in second position. Here, kan is the finite verb, so it comes early:

• Jeg kan ikke finde min bilnøgle

The adverb ikke usually comes after the finite verb in main clauses, so:

• jeg kan ikke ...

This is one of the most important Danish word-order patterns to learn.

Compare:

• Jeg kan ikke finde den. = main clause
• ... fordi jeg ikke kan finde den. = subordinate clause

In subordinate clauses, ikke usually comes before the finite verb.

Because bilnøgle is a common gender noun in Danish, so it takes min.

Danish has two grammatical genders:

• en-words → take min
• et-words → take mit

So:

• en bilnøgle
• min bilnøgle

If it were a neuter noun, you would use mit instead.

Bilnøgle is a compound noun:

• bil = car
• nøgle = key

So bilnøgle literally means car key.

Compound nouns are extremely common in Danish, just like in German and often unlike English. Danish usually writes them as one word, not two.

Other examples:

• husnøgle = house key
• cykelnøgle = bicycle key
• dørhåndtag = door handle

They are definite because the speaker means a specific bag and a specific trunk.

• tasken = the bag
• bagagerummet = the trunk / boot

In Danish, the definite article is usually attached to the end of the noun:

• en taske → tasken
• et bagagerum → bagagerummet

So instead of a separate word like English the, Danish often adds -en, -n, -et, or -t to the noun.

Because they belong to different grammatical genders.

• en taske → tasken
• et bagagerum → bagagerummet

A very general pattern is:

• common gender (en-word) → definite form often ends in -en
• neuter (et-word) → definite form often ends in -et

So the endings tell you something about the noun’s gender.

Because så here is a coordinating conjunction meaning so, and what comes after it is a new main clause:

• Jeg kan ikke finde min bilnøgle
• så jeg tjekker tasken og bagagerummet igen

In Danish, a new main clause normally needs its own subject, so jeg is repeated.

This is similar to English:

• I can’t find my car key, so I check the bag and the trunk again.

Both are possible in Danish, but they do not feel exactly the same.

• ..., så jeg tjekker tasken ...
  This is very straightforward and neutral: so I check the bag ...

• ..., så tjekker jeg tasken ...
  This has inversion and can sound a bit more like the result or next action is being highlighted.

Because så here works as a coordinating conjunction introducing a new clause, using normal subject-verb order jeg tjekker is very natural.

Danish uses the simple present much more broadly than English does. So jeg tjekker can often mean:

• I check
• I am checking

The exact meaning depends on context.

In this sentence, jeg tjekker tasken og bagagerummet igen would naturally be understood as something happening now or as the next action the speaker takes.

This is very common in Danish, so learners should not expect a separate form exactly matching every English -ing form.

Yes. At tjekke is a common verb in modern Danish, borrowed from English to check.

So:

• at tjekke = to check
• jeg tjekker = I check / I’m checking

It is widely used in everyday speech. Depending on context, Danish might also use other verbs, such as:

• undersøge = examine, inspect
• se i = look in
• lede i = search through

But tjekke sounds very natural in this sentence.

Igen means again.

In this sentence:

• jeg tjekker tasken og bagagerummet igen
• I check the bag and the trunk again

Putting igen near the end is very natural in Danish. It usually comes after the thing being acted on, especially in simple sentences like this one.

You can think of it as modifying the whole action:

• check the bag and the trunk again

Ikke means not.

In the first clause:

• Jeg kan ikke finde min bilnøgle

it negates the verb phrase kan finde:

• can not find

So the meaning is I cannot find my car key.

As a general rule in main clauses, ikke comes after the finite verb:

• Jeg kommer ikke.
• Han har ikke set det.
• Vi kan ikke finde den.

It has two coordinated main clauses joined by så:

1. Jeg kan ikke finde min bilnøgle
2. så jeg tjekker tasken og bagagerummet igen

You can break the first clause down like this:

• Jeg = subject
• kan = finite verb / modal verb
• ikke = negation
• finde = infinitive
• min bilnøgle = object

And the second clause:

• så = so
• jeg = subject
• tjekker = finite verb
• tasken og bagagerummet = object
• igen = adverb

This is a very useful model for building your own Danish sentences.

It is a compound noun:

• bagage = luggage
• rum = room, compartment

So bagagerum literally means luggage compartment, which is why it means trunk or boot.

The definite form is bagagerummet = the trunk.

Like many Danish compound words, it can look long, but it is just smaller parts joined together. Learners often find it easier if they mentally split it up:

• bagage + rum + met

The exact pronunciation can vary a bit in natural speech, but the important thing is to recognize it as one noun with a definite ending.