Jeg lægger bestikket frem, før gæsterne kommer.

In this sentence, lægger ... frem means lay out or set out.

So Jeg lægger bestikket frem means something like:

• I lay out the cutlery
• I put the cutlery out
• I set the cutlery out

The word frem often adds the idea of bringing something forward, out, or into place for use. Here it is not literally forward in a physical direction; it is part of the expression.

Bestik means cutlery in the indefinite form.

Bestikket means the cutlery.

Danish often makes nouns definite by adding an ending:

• en stol = a chair
• stolen = the chair

For neuter nouns:

• et bestik = a set of cutlery / cutlery
• bestikket = the cutlery

So the -et ending is the definite article, attached to the noun.

Because Danish usually puts the at the end of the noun instead of using a separate word like English does.

So:

• bestik = cutlery
• bestikket = the cutlery

This is completely normal in Danish. English says the guests, but Danish says gæsterne, where -ne carries the idea of the.

Gæsterne means the guests.

The base noun is:

• en gæst = a guest

Plural forms:

• gæster = guests
• gæsterne = the guests

So -ne is the definite plural ending here.

Danish often uses the present tense for future meaning, just like English sometimes does.

Compare:

• The guests come at 7.
• The guests are coming at 7.

In Danish, før gæsterne kommer naturally means before the guests come / before the guests arrive.

So even though the action is in the future, the present tense is normal.

Because før introduces a subordinate clause, and subordinate clauses usually keep the normal subject-verb order:

• gæsterne = subject
• kommer = verb

So:

• før gæsterne kommer = before the guests come

If this were a main clause, Danish would normally use verb-second word order. But after før, it is a subordinate clause, so the subject comes before the verb.

Here, før is a conjunction, because it introduces a whole clause:

• før gæsterne kommer = before the guests come

If før is followed by just a noun phrase, it behaves more like a preposition:

• før festen = before the party

But in your sentence, it introduces a clause with a subject and verb, so it is functioning as a conjunction.

Yes, lægge literally means to lay / put down, but in Danish it is also used idiomatically in expressions like lægge noget frem.

With bestik, this is very natural and means to lay out the cutlery or set the cutlery out.

English and Danish do not always choose the same everyday verb. English might prefer set out, while Danish can naturally use lægge frem.

This is a very common question.

• lægge = to lay / put something somewhere
  
  • it usually takes an object
• ligge = to lie / be lying
  • it usually describes where something is

Examples:

• Jeg lægger bestikket frem. = I lay out the cutlery.
• Bestikket ligger på bordet. = The cutlery is lying on the table.

So in your sentence, the speaker is doing an action to the cutlery, which is why lægger is correct.

Usually, lægger bestikket frem is more natural for cutlery.

Danish often chooses verbs based on the physical nature of the object:

• lægge for things that are laid down flat
• stille for things that are placed standing up
• sætte for seated position, or in some fixed expressions

Because cutlery is typically laid on the table, lægge bestikket frem sounds very natural.

It can be understood as either, depending on the translation style.

• før gæsterne kommer can mean:
  • before the guests come
  • before the guests arrive

In natural English, arrive may sound slightly more idiomatic in this context, but the Danish verb is simply kommer.

Yes. You can also put the før clause first:

• Før gæsterne kommer, lægger jeg bestikket frem.

That still means the same thing: Before the guests come, I lay out the cutlery.

Notice what happens in the main clause after the fronted clause:

• lægger jeg
• not jeg lægger

That is because Danish main clauses follow the verb-second rule.

Yes. In Danish, it is common to put a comma before a subordinate clause like før gæsterne kommer.

So:

• Jeg lægger bestikket frem, før gæsterne kommer.

This comma helps show the sentence structure clearly. Danish comma rules are not exactly the same as English comma rules, so this is something learners often notice.