I dag lærer vi udtrykkene “det ser ud til, at” og “det lyder, som om”, som vi bruger, når noget virker sandsynligt.

Because Danish is a V2 language: in a main clause, the finite verb usually comes in the second position.

So when I dag comes first, the verb lærer must come next, and the subject vi comes after it:

I dag lærer vi udtrykkene.

If the subject comes first, you get:

Vi lærer udtrykkene i dag.

Both are correct, but the word order changes depending on what comes first.

Udtrykkene is the definite plural form, meaning the expressions.

A useful pattern is:

• et udtryk = an expression
• udtryk = expressions
• udtrykkene = the expressions

Danish usually marks definiteness with an ending rather than a separate word like the. Here it is definite because the sentence is talking about two specific expressions, which are named right after.

This is a fixed idiomatic pattern.

• at se ud = to look, to appear
• at se ud til at / det ser ud til, at = to seem, to look as if

So you should not try to translate each word separately in a very literal way. The combination works as one expression.

Examples:

• Det ser ud til, at det regner.
• Han ser ud til at være træt.

The first uses a full clause after at. The second uses an infinitive.

Because they are simply different fixed patterns.

• det ser ud til, at ...
• det lyder, som om ...

Danish often uses different connectors after different verbs, just as English does:

• it seems that ...
• it sounds as if ...

So even though the two expressions are similar in meaning, they do not use the same grammar afterward.

In these expressions, det usually does not refer to a specific thing. It is a dummy subject, just like English it in:

• It seems that ...
• It sounds like ...

So det is there because Danish needs a subject in the sentence structure.

No. It is the same word in form, but it has different jobs.

In som om, it is part of the fixed conjunction som om, meaning as if.

In som vi bruger, som is a relative word meaning that/which, referring back to udtrykkene.

So:

• det lyder, som om ... = it sounds as if ...
• udtrykkene, som vi bruger ... = the expressions that we use ...

Because når is used for something general, repeated, or typical: when something seems likely.

This sentence is explaining a general rule about when we use the expressions, so når is the natural choice.

Hvis would sound more like a specific condition: if something seems likely.

A simple way to think of it:

• når = when, in general
• hvis = if, under a condition

Virker means seems or appears. It makes the statement a little less absolute.

• noget virker sandsynligt = something seems likely
• noget er sandsynligt = something is likely

Since the sentence is about expressions used when something only appears likely, virker fits very well.

The commas help show the sentence structure, especially where subordinate or extra explanatory clauses begin.

For example:

• som vi bruger adds information about udtrykkene
• når noget virker sandsynligt explains when the expressions are used

Also, in Danish, commas before clauses introduced by words like at, som, and når are common, although some comma choices can vary depending on the comma system being used.

So the commas are mainly grammatical markers, not just pauses.

Here it means learn:

I dag lærer vi udtrykkene = Today we are learning the expressions

This can confuse learners because:

• at lære = to learn
• en lærer = a teacher

In some contexts, lære can also be used in a teaching sense, but in this sentence the meaning is clearly learn, because vi are the ones gaining the knowledge.