Jeg skriver et fødselsdagskort, og min bror vælger rødt gavepapir til gaven.

Because they are in the present tense.

In Danish, the present tense is usually formed by adding -r or -er to the verb stem. In this sentence:

• jeg skriver = I write / I am writing
• min bror vælger = my brother chooses / is choosing

A useful thing for English speakers: Danish present tense does not change according to the subject.

So you get:

• jeg skriver
• du skriver
• han skriver
• vi skriver

The verb stays the same for all persons.

Because skriver is the correct present-tense form of the verb at skrive (to write).

Danish dictionaries usually list verbs with at:

• at skrive = to write
• at vælge = to choose

In an actual sentence, you normally use the conjugated form:

• jeg skriver
• han vælger

So skriv by itself is not the present tense here. In fact, skriv! would usually be the imperative: write!

Because kort is a neuter noun in Danish, so its indefinite article is et.

Danish nouns have two grammatical genders:

• common gender → en
• neuter → et

So:

• et kort = a card
• therefore et fødselsdagskort = a birthday card

The whole compound noun takes its gender from the last part:

• fødselsdag
  • kort → fødselsdagskort

Since kort is neuter, the full word is neuter too.

Because gavepapir is neuter, and in the indefinite singular a neuter noun usually makes the adjective take -t.

So:

• en rød bil = a red car
• et rødt hus = a red house
• rødt gavepapir = red wrapping paper

This is called adjective agreement.

Since gavepapir is treated as an et-word, the adjective becomes rødt.

Because gavepapir is often used like a mass noun, similar to English wrapping paper.

In English, you can say:

• He chooses red wrapping paper

without saying a.

Danish works similarly here:

• min bror vælger rødt gavepapir

This sounds natural when talking about the material in a general sense.

If you wanted to make it more specific, you could use an article in another context, but in this sentence zero article is very normal.

In Danish, a possessive like min, din, hans, vores usually replaces the article.

So:

• min bror = my brother
• din bog = your book
• hendes bil = her car

You do not normally add the definite ending as well in this kind of basic structure.

So min bror is the natural form, not min broren.

Because gaven means the gift, and til here means something like for or for use with.

So:

• gavepapir til gaven = wrapping paper for the gift

The noun is definite because it refers to a specific gift already understood in the situation.

Compare:

• en gave = a gift
• gaven = the gift

In context, they are not choosing wrapping paper for just any gift, but for the gift.

Because the sentence presents them differently.

• et fødselsdagskort introduces one item: a birthday card
• gaven refers to a specific, known gift: the gift

This is very similar to English article use:

• I’m writing a birthday card
• ...for the gift

So Danish is making the same kind of distinction between new/unspecified and specific/known.

This is normal Danish main clause word order: the verb usually comes in the second position.

So in each clause you get:

• Jeg
  • skriver ...
• min bror
  • vælger ...

This is often called the V2 rule (verb-second).

After og introducing another main clause, the new clause also follows normal main-clause order:

• ..., og min bror vælger ...

You do not move the verb to the end like in German.

Because the sentence joins two clauses:

• Jeg skriver et fødselsdagskort
• min bror vælger rødt gavepapir til gaven

In standard Danish punctuation, a comma is often used to separate clauses, including before og when it links two full clauses with their own subjects and verbs.

So the comma helps show that there are really two complete actions happening:

1. I am writing a birthday card.
2. My brother is choosing wrapping paper.

Danish makes very frequent use of compound nouns, just like German and, to some extent, English.

fødselsdagskort

This can be broken down as:

• fødselsdag = birthday
• -s- = linking element
• kort = card

So literally: birthday-card

gavepapir

This is:

• gave = gift
• papir = paper

So literally: gift-paper, meaning wrapping paper

English often writes similar ideas as separate words, but Danish usually writes them as one word.

It is a linking s that often appears in Danish compounds.

For example:

• fødselsdag
  • kort → fødselsdagskort

This s does not usually have a separate meaning by itself; it just helps form the compound in the standard way.

English speakers often wonder whether it is a possessive 's like in English. Here, it is better to think of it as a compound linker, not as a normal possessive.

It can mean both, depending on context.

Danish simple present often covers both:

• I write
• I am writing

So in this sentence, jeg skriver et fødselsdagskort can naturally mean:

• I write a birthday card
  or more idiomatically in context:
• I am writing a birthday card

If you need to make the ongoing action especially clear, Danish can use other ways to express that, but the simple present is very common.

Usually til gaven is the natural choice here.

In this context, til means:

• intended for
• to go with
• for use with

So:

• gavepapir til gaven = wrapping paper for the gift

Using for here would usually sound less natural. Danish often uses til where English uses for.

Usually it is treated as uncountable in sentences like this, much like English wrapping paper.

That is why:

• min bror vælger rødt gavepapir

sounds natural without an article.

But like many material nouns, it can become more countable in some contexts if you are talking about pieces, rolls, or types. Still, in ordinary everyday use, learners should mainly think of gavepapir as a mass noun.

No, in correct Danish it should be written as one compound word:

• fødselsdagskort

This is a very important spelling habit in Danish. Where English may write two words, Danish often combines them:

• birthday card → fødselsdagskort
• gift paper / wrapping paper → gavepapir

Writing them separately often looks wrong to a native speaker.

The basic dictionary forms are:

• et kort = a card
• en fødselsdag = a birthday
• en bror = a brother
• et gavepapir = wrapping paper
• en gave = a gift

From these, the sentence builds:

• et fødselsdagskort
• min bror
• rødt gavepapir
• gaven

This is useful because Danish learners often need to know whether a noun is an en-word or an et-word, since that affects articles and adjective endings.