Hvis der er citron i køleskabet, laver min datter vand med citron til os alle.

Hvis means if and introduces a condition.

So:

• Hvis der er citron i køleskabet = If there is lemon / a lemon in the fridge
• laver min datter ... = my daughter makes ...

This is a normal Danish way to build an if-clause + main clause sentence.

In Danish, der er is very common for saying that something exists or is present somewhere.

So:

• Der er citron i køleskabet = There is lemon / a lemon in the fridge

Here, der does not mean there in the location sense. It is more like the dummy there in English there is / there are.

Compare:

• Der er vand på bordet = There is water on the table
• Der er en citron i køleskabet = There is a lemon in the fridge

Both can be possible, but they suggest slightly different things.

• citron without an article can sound more like lemon as an ingredient or substance
• en citron clearly means a lemon, one whole item

So Hvis der er citron i køleskabet can sound a bit like:

• If there’s lemon in the fridge
• or more naturally in context, If there is some lemon / any lemon available in the fridge

If the speaker wants to emphasize one whole lemon, Hvis der er en citron i køleskabet would be very natural too.

Køleskabet means the fridge. Danish often uses the definite form when talking about a specific, familiar object in the situation, just like English does.

• et køleskab = a fridge
• køleskabet = the fridge

The ending -et makes the noun definite because køleskab is a neuter noun.

So:

• i køleskabet = in the fridge

This is because Danish follows the V2 rule in main clauses: the finite verb usually comes in the second position.

When the sentence starts with an if-clause like Hvis der er citron i køleskabet, that whole clause counts as the first element. Then the verb must come next:

• Hvis der er citron i køleskabet, laver min datter ...

Not:

• Hvis der er citron i køleskabet, min datter laver ...

This inversion is very important in Danish word order.

Yes. Lave often means make, prepare, or do, depending on context.

Here it means prepare/make a drink:

• lave vand med citron = make water with lemon / prepare lemon water

It is a very common everyday verb in Danish.

Examples:

• Jeg laver mad = I’m cooking
• Hun laver kaffe = She makes coffee
• Vi laver te = We make tea

Vand med citron literally means water with lemon. This is a very natural Danish phrase.

Danish also has many compound nouns, and in some contexts you might see something like citronvand, but vand med citron sounds very straightforward and transparent: plain water that has lemon in it.

So the phrase focuses on the drink as:

• water + with lemon

Til os alle means for all of us.

• til os = for us
• til os alle = for all of us

The word alle adds emphasis that everyone in the group gets some.

So:

• min datter laver vand med citron til os alle = my daughter makes lemon water for all of us

Usually til is the natural choice here.

• til often means something like for / to, especially when something is prepared, given, or intended for someone
• for can also mean for, but it is used in different kinds of situations

With lave noget til nogen (make something for someone), Danish normally uses til:

• Jeg laver kaffe til dig = I’m making coffee for you

So til os alle is the expected phrasing.

It can mean either, depending on context.

Because it uses the present tense:

• er
• laver

the sentence could mean:

1. a general habit

   • If there is lemon in the fridge, my daughter makes lemon water for all of us

2. a future-like situation

   • If there is lemon in the fridge, my daughter will make lemon water for all of us

Danish often uses the present tense where English might use either the present or will.

Yes, the comma is normal.

The first part is a subordinate clause:

• Hvis der er citron i køleskabet

Then comes the main clause:

• laver min datter vand med citron til os alle

In standard Danish, it is normal to put a comma between them:

• Hvis der er citron i køleskabet, laver min datter ...

So the punctuation helps show the structure clearly.

A useful breakdown is:

• Hvis = if
• der er citron i køleskabet = there is lemon in the fridge
• laver = makes
• min datter = my daughter
• vand med citron = water with lemon
• til os alle = for all of us

So the pattern is:

• [conditional clause], [main clause with inverted word order]

More abstractly:

• If X, then Y

In Danish:

• Hvis X, verb + subject + rest

That is why the word order looks a little different from English.