Selv hvis bussen er forsinket, kommer jeg til tiden.

Selv hvis means even if.

It introduces a condition that does not change the result:

• Selv hvis bussen er forsinket, kommer jeg til tiden.
• Even if the bus is delayed, I’ll arrive on time.

A useful comparison:

• hvis = if
• selv hvis = even if
• selvom = although / even though

So selv hvis is used for a hypothetical condition, while selvom usually introduces something presented more as a fact or real situation.

In Danish, the definite article is often added to the end of the noun.

• bus = bus
• bussen = the bus

This is very common in Danish:

• bil → bilen = the car
• tog → toget = the train

So bussen literally means bus-the, but in natural English it is simply the bus.

Because this is a subordinate clause introduced by hvis.

In Danish subordinate clauses, the word order is usually straightforward:

• subject + verb
• bussen er forsinket

So after hvis, you do not normally use the inversion that you often see in main clauses.

Compare:

• Hvis bussen er forsinket ... = subordinate clause
• Bussen er forsinket. = main clause

Both keep bussen before er.

This is because Danish main clauses usually follow the V2 rule: the finite verb must come in the second position.

Here, the whole first clause is placed first:

• Selv hvis bussen er forsinket

After that, the main clause begins, and the finite verb must come second overall:

• kommer jeg til tiden

So the order becomes:

• [fronted clause] + verb + subject

That is why you get:

• Selv hvis bussen er forsinket, kommer jeg til tiden.

If the main clause came first, you would say:

• Jeg kommer til tiden, selv hvis bussen er forsinket.

Both are correct.

Danish often uses the present tense to talk about the future, especially when the future meaning is already clear from context.

So:

• kommer jeg til tiden can mean I arrive / I am arriving / I will arrive on time

English often prefers will, but Danish does not always need a separate future form.

You could also see Danish use vil in some situations, but simple present is very common for planned or expected future events.

Til tiden is the standard expression for on time.

So:

• komme til tiden = to arrive on time

A very important contrast is:

• til tiden = on time
• i tide = in time / before it is too late

Examples:

• Jeg kom til tiden. = I arrived on time.
• Jeg nåede bussen i tide. = I caught the bus in time.

English learners often mix these up, so it is worth remembering that til tiden is the idiomatic choice here.

Forsinket is the past participle of forsinke (to delay), but here it functions like an adjective after er.

So:

• Bussen er forsinket = The bus is delayed

This is very similar to English.

You can think of it as:

• er = is
• forsinket = delayed

Because it is used predicatively after er, it does not take an extra ending here.

Yes. You can also say:

• Jeg kommer til tiden, selv hvis bussen er forsinket.

This means the same thing.

The difference is mainly focus:

• Selv hvis bussen er forsinket, kommer jeg til tiden.
  puts more emphasis on the condition first.

• Jeg kommer til tiden, selv hvis bussen er forsinket.
  puts the main statement first.

Both are natural.

In this sentence, selv hvis is the better choice because the idea is conditional: the bus may or may not be delayed, but the result stays the same.

• selv hvis = even if
• selvom = even though / although

So:

• Selv hvis bussen er forsinket ...
  = the delay is a possible condition

But:

• Selvom bussen er forsinket ...
  sounds more like the bus actually is delayed

That is an important meaning difference.

The main clause is:

• kommer jeg til tiden

That is the part that could stand on its own, with normal adjustment of word order:

• Jeg kommer til tiden.

The first part,

• Selv hvis bussen er forsinket

is a subordinate clause that depends on the main clause.

So the full structure is:

• subordinate clause + main clause

This structure is very common in Danish.