Hun sukker, når nogen taler, som om hendes arbejde er let.

Here når expresses a general, repeated situation, so it is often best understood as when in the sense of whenever.

So the sentence is not about one single event. It means that this is her typical reaction: every time someone speaks as if her work is easy, she sighs.

A good way to think about it is:

• når
  • present tense often = repeated/general when
• in English, that can sound like when or whenever

Because da is usually used for a specific event in the past, while når is used for repeated events, general truths, or future situations.

So:

• Hun sukker, når nogen taler ... = she sighs when/whenever someone speaks ...
• Hun sukkede, da nogen talte sådan. = she sighed when someone spoke like that on one specific occasion

A native English speaker often overuses da, but in sentences like this one, når is the normal choice.

Nogen here means someone / anyone and is singular.

• nogen = someone, anyone
• nogle = some, some people, a few

So:

• når nogen taler = when someone speaks / when people speak (in a general “anyone who does this” sense)
• når nogle taler = when some people speak

English learners sometimes expect a plural form because English often uses people in similar sentences, but Danish nogen works very naturally here.

The commas mark subordinate clauses.

The sentence has:

• a main clause: Hun sukker
• a subordinate clause introduced by når: når nogen taler
• another subordinate clause introduced by som om: som om hendes arbejde er let

So the punctuation helps show the structure.

Also, Danish comma usage can vary a little depending on whether the writer uses start comma. That means you may sometimes see slightly different comma placement in real Danish texts. But the sentence as written is perfectly normal and clearly structured.

Because those are subordinate clauses.

In Danish:

• main clauses usually follow the V2 rule: the finite verb comes in second position
• subordinate clauses usually have subject + verb order

So:

• Main clause: Hun sukker
• Subordinate clause: når nogen taler
• Subordinate clause: som om hendes arbejde er let

That is why you do not get something like når taler nogen here.

A useful comparison:

• Hun sukker.
• Når nogen taler, sukker hun.

In the second example, the main clause still keeps V2, so after the fronted subordinate clause you get sukker hun, not hun sukker.

Som om means as if.

It introduces a clause describing an appearance, impression, or attitude. In this sentence, it means that someone is speaking in a way that suggests her work is easy.

So:

• taler, som om hendes arbejde er let
  = speaks as if her work is easy

This structure is very common in Danish:

• Han ser ud, som om han er træt. = He looks as if he is tired.
• Hun taler, som om hun ved alt. = She speaks as if she knows everything.

Because sin/sit/sine can only refer back to the subject of the same clause.

That rule is very important in Danish.

In som om hendes arbejde er let, the subject of that clause is arbejde, not hun. So you cannot use sit there to refer back to hun. You need hendes.

Compare:

• Hun elsker sit arbejde.
  Here hun is the subject of the same clause, so sit is correct.

• Hun siger, at hendes arbejde er svært.
  In the subordinate clause, the subject is arbejde, so Danish uses hendes, not sit.

This is one of the most common difficulties for English speakers learning Danish.

Because the possessive already makes the noun definite.

Just like English says her work, not the her work, Danish says:

• hendes arbejde

not:

• det hendes arbejde

Possessives such as min, din, hans, hendes, vores already do the job that an article would otherwise do.

In Danish, you normally do not need a special subjunctive form after som om.

So som om hendes arbejde er let is completely natural Danish for a present-time idea.

English often prefers something like:

• as if her work were easy

But Danish usually just uses the ordinary indicative:

• som om hendes arbejde er let

You may also see var in some contexts, especially if the speaker wants a more hypothetical or distanced tone, but er is normal and straightforward here.

Sukker is the present tense of sukke = to sigh.

Danish verbs are much simpler than English verbs in this respect: they do not change for person or number.

So you get:

• jeg sukker
• du sukker
• hun sukker
• vi sukker

The form stays the same.

That means sukker here is simply the regular present tense.

Yes. If you do, the sentence becomes:

Når nogen taler, som om hendes arbejde er let, sukker hun.

That is very natural Danish.

Notice what happens in the main clause:

• Hun sukker
  becomes
• sukker hun

This is because Danish main clauses follow the V2 rule. When the subordinate clause comes first, it takes the first position, so the finite verb in the main clause must come next.

Often yes, but there is a slight difference in tone.

• taler is a bit more neutral and can sound slightly more formal or written
• snakker is more conversational, like talks

So:

• når nogen taler, som om ... sounds very natural in writing
• når nogen snakker, som om ... is also possible, but a bit more informal

In this sentence, taler fits very well because it focuses on the manner of speaking, not just casual chatting.