Min niece lægger badedragten i tasken, før vi tager til stranden.

Because niece is a common gender noun in Danish, and it is singular.

Danish possessive forms agree with the noun like this:

• min
  • singular common gender noun
• mit
  • singular neuter noun
• mine
  • plural noun

So:

• min niece = my niece
• mit hus = my house
• mine sko = my shoes

After a possessive like min, din, hans, vores, and so on, Danish normally uses the indefinite form of the noun.

So you say:

• min niece = my niece
• min taske = my bag
• vores bil = our car

Not:

• min niecen
• min tasken

This is different from English, where the noun itself does not visibly change.

Because badedragten is the definite form of badedragt.

• en badedragt = a swimsuit
• badedragten = the swimsuit

In this sentence, it refers to a specific swimsuit, not just any swimsuit. Danish often uses the definite form where English also uses the.

Also, badedragt is a compound noun:

• bade = bathing / swim-related
• dragt = suit / outfit

So badedragt literally means something like bathing suit.

Because Danish usually writes compound nouns as one single word.

So:

• bade + dragt → badedragt
• svømme + hal → svømmehal
• sommer + ferie → sommerferie

This is very normal in Danish and often looks longer than in English. English sometimes separates words that Danish joins together.

Because they are in the present tense.

The infinitives are:

• at lægge = to put / to lay
• at tage = to take / to go

The present tense is:

• lægger = puts / is putting
• tager = take / are taking / go

Danish present tense is usually formed by adding -r to the infinitive stem.

Examples:

• jeg lægger = I put / I am putting
• vi tager = we go / we are going

Unlike English, Danish does not usually change the verb depending on the subject:

• jeg tager
• du tager
• han tager
• vi tager

Lægger comes from at lægge, which literally means to lay or to place something down.

In practice, in a sentence like this, lægger ... i tasken is very naturally translated as puts ... in the bag.

Danish often distinguishes between ways of placing things:

• lægge = lay/put something so it lies
• stille = set/put something so it stands
• sætte = set/sit something

But in everyday speech, these can overlap somewhat, and English usually just says put.

So here, lægger badedragten i tasken is a normal and natural way to say puts the swimsuit in the bag.

Because the prepositions have different meanings:

• i tasken = in the bag
• til stranden = to the beach

So:

• i shows location or movement into something
• til shows direction toward a place

Here the niece is putting the swimsuit in the bag, and we are going to the beach.

Both are in the definite form:

• tasken = the bag
• stranden = the beach

This usually means the speaker has a specific bag and a specific beach in mind, or they are understood from the situation.

In Danish, definite forms are often used very naturally when the thing is known in context.

Compare:

• i en taske = in a bag

• i tasken = in the bag

• til en strand = to a beach
• til stranden = to the beach

Because før introduces a subordinate clause.

The clause is:

• før vi tager til stranden = before we go to the beach

In Danish subordinate clauses, the word order is usually more straightforward than in main clauses:

• vi tager til stranden

If this were a main clause starting with a time expression, you might get inversion:

• I dag tager vi til stranden.

But after før, you keep normal subject + verb order:

• før vi tager
• not før tager vi

Because Danish normally places a comma before a subordinate clause.

Here:

• Min niece lægger badedragten i tasken = main clause
• før vi tager til stranden = subordinate clause

So the comma helps separate them.

This is standard in written Danish.

Literally, tage often means take, but in many expressions it can also mean go.

So vi tager til stranden is a very natural way to say:

• we’re going to the beach
• we go to the beach

This is an idiomatic use of tage til plus a place.

You may also see:

• tage i skole = go to school
• tage hjem = go home

So do not always translate tage word-for-word as take.

Yes, often you could.

Both før and inden can mean before in many contexts.

• før vi tager til stranden
• inden vi tager til stranden

Both can sound natural here. In many everyday sentences, the difference is small. Learners will commonly meet both.

A rough guide for English speakers is:

• lægger ≈ LEH-gər

The æ sound is similar to the vowel in English cat, though not always exactly the same depending on accent.

A few rough pronunciation hints for the whole sentence:

• Min ≈ meen
• niece = this word is unusual in Danish spelling, but if it is meant as Danish niece, many learners would more often see niece/niecen in family vocabulary contexts depending on source usage
• lægger ≈ LEH-gər
• badedragten ≈ BA-the-drekt-en with very approximate English sounds
• tasken ≈ TAS-gen
• før ≈ a sound somewhat like fur but with rounded lips
• vi tager ≈ vee TAY-er
• stranden ≈ STRAN-den

These are only rough approximations, since Danish pronunciation is often less straightforward than the spelling suggests.

Yes. Danish often uses the present tense for actions in the present or near future, especially when the time is understood from context.

So:

• Min niece lægger badedragten i tasken
• før vi tager til stranden

can describe something happening now as part of a plan or sequence.

English does something similar:

• My niece puts the swimsuit in the bag before we go to the beach.

Or more naturally in some contexts:

• My niece is putting the swimsuit in the bag before we go to the beach.

So the present tense is perfectly normal here.