Jeg lægger regnslaget over rygsækken, før vi går videre.

Because Danish distinguishes between:

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

In this sentence, the speaker is actively placing the rain cover over the backpack, so Danish uses lægger.

A useful pattern is:

• Jeg lægger bogen på bordet. = I put the book on the table.
• Bogen ligger på bordet. = The book is lying on the table.

So lægger shows movement or placement, while ligger describes position.

Regnslag is a noun meaning something like a rain cover or rain cape, depending on context. In this sentence, it is most naturally understood as a rain cover for the backpack.

The ending -et makes it definite:

• et regnslag = a rain cover
• regnslaget = the rain cover

Danish usually adds the definite article to the end of the noun instead of putting a separate word in front, unlike English.

Rygsækken means the backpack.

Again, Danish often shows definiteness by adding it to the end of the noun:

• en rygsæk = a backpack
• rygsækken = the backpack

So both regnslaget and rygsækken are definite forms:

• the rain cover
• the backpack

That suggests the speaker has a specific rain cover and a specific backpack in mind.

Here over means over / on top of / covering.

In this sentence, it suggests that the rain cover is being placed so that it covers the backpack. English might say:

• over the backpack
• on the backpack
• around the backpack

Danish over often matches English over, but in practical use it can sometimes overlap with what English would express as on or around, depending on the object and situation.

Because Danish punctuation normally uses a comma before a subordinate clause, and før vi går videre is a subordinate clause introduced by før.

So the structure is:

• main clause: Jeg lægger regnslaget over rygsækken
• subordinate clause: før vi går videre

In modern Danish, comma rules can vary a little depending on style and whether someone uses startkomma, but this comma is very normal and expected.

Because after før, you have a subordinate clause, and Danish subordinate clauses usually keep the subject before the verb in normal order:

• før vi går videre = before we continue / move on

In a main clause, Danish often uses verb-second word order:

• Vi går videre.

But in a subordinate clause introduced by før, the structure is more like:

• før + subject + verb

So før vi går videre is correct.

Videre means further / onward / on.

In gå videre, it often means:

• continue
• move on
• go on

So før vi går videre is a very natural way to say before we continue or before we move on.

You will often see videre in expressions like:

• Vi går videre. = We move on / continue.
• Læs videre. = Read on.
• Kan vi komme videre? = Can we move on?

Because Danish, like English, often uses the present tense for actions in the near future or in a sequence of events.

So:

• Jeg lægger regnslaget over rygsækken, før vi går videre.

can naturally refer to something the speaker is doing now or is just about to do before the next step happens.

English does this too:

• I put the cover on before we continue.
• I’m putting the cover on before we continue.

Danish often relies on context rather than a special future form.

Yes, very much so. Gå videre is a common expression meaning:

• continue
• move on
• go on to the next thing

It can be literal or figurative:

• Vi går videre ad stien. = We continue along the path.
• Lad os gå videre til næste punkt. = Let’s move on to the next point.

So in your sentence, it sounds completely natural.

Possibly, but it changes the nuance.

• over rygsækken emphasizes that the rain cover goes over the backpack as a covering layer
• på rygsækken would sound more like on the backpack

With something like a rain cover, over is a very good choice because the idea is not just contact, but covering.

So over rygsækken is probably the best wording here.

A rough guide is LEH-guh, but with Danish sounds that do not match English exactly.

A few points:

• æ is a front vowel, somewhat like the vowel in cat, but not identical
• gg here does not sound like a hard English g in go
• the ending -er in Danish is often a light, reduced sound

So it is not pronounced the way an English speaker might guess from the spelling.

If you are learning pronunciation, it is especially helpful to listen to native audio for words like lægger, because Danish vowel quality and reduced endings are hard to predict from spelling alone.

The sentence is built like this:

• Jeg = subject
• lægger = verb
• regnslaget = direct object
• over rygsækken = prepositional phrase showing where the object is placed
• før vi går videre = subordinate time clause

So the overall pattern is:

Subject + verb + object + prepositional phrase + subordinate clause

That makes it a very useful model sentence for everyday Danish:

• Jeg tager jakken på, før vi går ud.
• Jeg sætter tasken her, før vi går videre.

In sentences like this, yes: før means before in time.

But learners should know that Danish før can appear in different contexts, for example:

• før vi går = before we go
• før i tiden = in earlier times / formerly

So its core idea is earlier than something else. In your sentence, it clearly introduces a time clause: before we continue.

Because in Danish, the definite article is usually attached to the noun as a suffix.

Compare:

• en rygsæk = a backpack

• rygsækken = the backpack

• et regnslag = a rain cover
• regnslaget = the rain cover

This is one of the biggest structural differences from English. English puts the before the noun, but Danish usually adds -en, -et, or -ne to the end.

So in this sentence, the definiteness is already built into regnslaget and rygsækken.