Vi går ikke ud, før timen er slut.

Because this is a main clause, and Danish main clauses normally put the finite verb in second position.

So the order is:

• Vi = subject
• går = finite verb
• ikke = negation
• ud = particle/adverb

That gives:

Vi går ikke ud. = We are not going out / We are not leaving.

This is very different from English, where not usually comes after an auxiliary verb: we do not go out.

Here, går ud means something like go out or leave.

Literally:

• går = go / walk
• ud = out

But together, gå ud often works like a unit, just as go out does in English.

In this sentence, it most naturally means:

• We don’t go out
• or We don’t leave

depending on context.

If this is said in a classroom, We don’t leave until class is over is probably the best natural meaning.

Yes, før usually means before, but in a sentence with a negation like ikke, Danish often uses ikke ... før where English uses not ... until.

So:

• Vi går ikke ud, før timen er slut.

literally looks like:

• We go not out, before the lesson is finished.

but naturally means:

• We don’t go out until the lesson is over.

So this is a very common Danish pattern:

• ikke ... før = not ... until

Sometimes Danish uses indtil for until, but in this kind of sentence, ikke ... før is very common and natural.

So:

• Vi går ikke ud, før timen er slut. = very natural

You may also hear indtil in other contexts, but ikke ... før is the pattern learners should especially remember, because it often corresponds to English not ... until.

Because timen means the lesson / the class / the hour, while time means a lesson / an hour.

So:

• time = a lesson / an hour
• timen = the lesson / the hour

The ending -en is the normal way Danish makes many common-gender nouns definite.

In this sentence, timen means:

• the class
• or the lesson

depending on context.

It can mean either in Danish, but here it most likely means the class or the lesson.

So:

• timen can literally be the hour
• but in school contexts it often means the class period / the lesson

That is why the sentence is naturally understood as:

• We don’t leave until the class is over.

Er slut means is finished or is over.

So:

• timen er slut = the lesson is over / finished

Danish often uses this structure where English might also say:

• the class is over
• instead of
• the class ends

You could also make a sentence with slutter in some contexts, but er slut is very natural here and focuses on the state of being finished.

Yes, går is present tense.

• går = go / are going

But just like English, Danish often uses the present tense for future situations when the meaning is clear from context.

So:

• Vi går ikke ud, før timen er slut.

is literally present tense, but it refers to what will happen later:

• We won’t go out until the class is over.

English does this too:

• We leave when the meeting ends.

That is present tense in form, but future in meaning.

After før, you get a subordinate clause:

• før timen er slut

The order here is:

• timen = subject
• er = verb
• slut = complement

So it is not a question order like Er timen slut? It is a normal statement order inside the subordinate clause:

• timen er slut

This is important because Danish main clauses and subordinate clauses do not behave exactly the same way.

In standard Danish, yes, the comma before the subordinate clause is normal:

• Vi går ikke ud, før timen er slut.

Danish comma rules have changed over time, and some details can vary depending on the system being taught, but in modern standard written Danish, this comma is what you would normally expect here.

In this sentence, ud normally stays where it is:

• Vi går ikke ud

That is the natural word order.

Because gå ud functions like a unit, moving ud around would usually sound wrong or at least unnatural in a simple sentence like this.

So for learners, it is best to remember the whole pattern:

• gå ud = go out / leave

and in a negated main clause:

• Vi går ikke ud

A more word-for-word version would be:

• We go not out, before the lesson is finished.

That is not natural English, but it helps show the Danish structure:

• Vi = we
• går = go
• ikke = not
• ud = out
• før = before
• timen = the lesson
• er = is
• slut = finished / over

Natural English then becomes:

• We don’t go out until the lesson is over.