Bevor ich gehe, richte ich den Kragen meines Hemdes vor dem Spiegel.

Bevor means before when it introduces a whole clause:

• Bevor ich gehe = Before I leave

German uses:

• bevor
  • clause
• vor
  • noun phrase

So:

• Bevor ich gehe = before I go
• Vor dem Essen = before the meal

You cannot say vor ich gehe in standard German.

Also, bevor is a subordinating conjunction, so it introduces a subordinate clause.

Because Bevor ich gehe is a subordinate clause, and in German subordinate clauses are normally separated from the main clause by a comma.

So the structure is:

• Bevor ich gehe, = subordinate clause
• richte ich den Kragen meines Hemdes vor dem Spiegel. = main clause

This comma is required in standard German.

This is a very common German word-order point.

German main clauses follow the verb-second rule. The finite verb must come in the second position. When the sentence starts with the subordinate clause Bevor ich gehe, that whole clause counts as position 1. So the verb of the main clause must come next:

• Bevor ich gehe, richte ich ...

Not:

• Bevor ich gehe, ich richte ...

If you put the main clause first, then you get the more familiar order:

• Ich richte den Kragen meines Hemdes vor dem Spiegel, bevor ich gehe.

Yes. After a subordinating conjunction like bevor, the finite verb goes to the end of the subordinate clause.

In Bevor ich gehe, the clause is very short:

• ich = subject
• gehe = verb

Since there is nothing else after the verb, it already appears at the end.

You can see the rule more clearly in a longer example:

• Bevor ich das Haus verlasse, ...
• Bevor ich zur Arbeit gehe, ...

In both cases, the verb is at the end of the subordinate clause.

Here, richten means something like:

• to straighten
• to adjust
• to fix into the right position

So ich richte den Kragen means I straighten/adjust the collar.

This is not the meaning to judge or to direct, which richten can have in other contexts. German verbs often have several meanings depending on context, and here the clothing-related meaning is adjust/straighten.

Because Kragen is the direct object of richten, and direct objects usually take the accusative case.

The noun is:

• der Kragen = nominative masculine

In the accusative, masculine der changes to den:

• den Kragen

So:

• Ich richte den Kragen.

That is exactly the same pattern as:

• Ich sehe den Mann.
• Ich öffne den Schrank.

Meines Hemdes is genitive, and it shows possession:

• der Kragen meines Hemdes = the collar of my shirt

Breakdown:

• mein becomes meines because it is genitive singular
• das Hemd becomes des Hemdes in the genitive
• so: meines Hemdes

This is a standard German way to say of my shirt.

So the phrase literally works like:

• the collar
  • of my shirt

Yes, you could.

• den Kragen meines Hemdes = genitive
• den Kragen von meinem Hemd = von
  • dative

Both are understandable and natural. The genitive version is a bit more compact and often feels a little more formal or written, while the von version is often more conversational.

So both are possible:

• Ich richte den Kragen meines Hemdes.
• Ich richte den Kragen von meinem Hemd.

A learner should recognize both.

Because vor is a two-way preposition. With two-way prepositions, German uses:

• dative for location
• accusative for movement toward a destination

Here, vor dem Spiegel describes where the action happens:

• in front of the mirror

So it is location, which requires the dative:

• vor dem Spiegel

If there were movement toward that position, you would use the accusative:

• Ich trete vor den Spiegel. = I step in front of the mirror.

But in your sentence, the speaker is already there, adjusting the collar, so dem is correct.

Because German very often uses the present tense for future meaning when the context is clear.

So:

• Bevor ich gehe literally looks like Before I go
• but in natural English it often means Before I leave

This is completely normal in German. You do not need a future form here.

German does this all the time:

• Ich gehe morgen nach Berlin. = I'm going to Berlin tomorrow.
• Bevor ich gehe, ... = Before I leave, ...

That is a very good question. German often uses a dative pronoun when talking about adjusting something on your body or on your clothing:

• Ich richte mir den Kragen.

This can sound very natural because it means something like:

• I adjust the collar for myself / on myself

But your original sentence without mir is also grammatical:

• Ich richte den Kragen meines Hemdes.

That version focuses more directly on the collar itself.

So you may hear several natural versions:

• Ich richte den Kragen meines Hemdes.
• Ich richte mir den Kragen.
• Ich richte mir den Kragen meines Hemdes.

All are possible; the choice depends on style and how much you want to emphasize possession or personal involvement.

It can move. German word order is flexible, especially with adverbial phrases like vor dem Spiegel.

Your sentence is perfectly natural:

• Bevor ich gehe, richte ich den Kragen meines Hemdes vor dem Spiegel.

But you could also say:

• Bevor ich gehe, richte ich vor dem Spiegel den Kragen meines Hemdes.

Both are grammatical. The original version sounds very natural because it keeps the direct object den Kragen meines Hemdes together and puts the location afterward.

So the phrase order here is normal and idiomatic, but not the only possible one.