Hvis solen skinner i morgen, har vi tænkt os at tage solcreme med til stranden.

Hvis means if and introduces a condition.

So Hvis solen skinner i morgen is the if-clause: it sets up the condition under which the rest will happen.

A learner should also know that Danish distinguishes between:

• hvis = if
• når = when

In this sentence, hvis is used because the sunshine is not certain. It is only a possible condition.

Solen means the sun.

In Danish, the definite article is often attached to the end of the noun instead of being a separate word.

• sol = sun
• solen = the sun

So solen skinner literally means the sun shines.

Danish often uses the present tense for future meaning when the time is already clear from context.

Here, i morgen makes it clear that the action is in the future, so skinner is perfectly natural.

This works much like English in sentences such as:

• If it rains tomorrow...
• When the train leaves...

So skinner is present in form, but future in meaning because of i morgen.

The comma separates the subordinate clause from the main clause.

• Hvis solen skinner i morgen = subordinate clause
• har vi tænkt os at tage solcreme med til stranden = main clause

In Danish, commas are commonly used to mark this boundary. So the comma helps show the structure of the sentence.

This is a very common Danish word-order pattern.

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

When a subordinate clause comes first, it takes the first position as a whole. Then the main clause must begin with the verb:

• Hvis solen skinner i morgen, har vi tænkt os ...

Not:

• Hvis solen skinner i morgen, vi har tænkt os ...

So the order changes because the sentence begins with a subordinate clause.

At have tænkt sig at is a very common Danish expression meaning something like:

• to intend to
• to plan to
• to be going to

In this sentence:

• har vi tænkt os at tage solcreme med
  = we intend / are planning to bring sunscreen

A few useful forms:

• jeg har tænkt mig at ... = I intend to ...
• du har tænkt dig at ... = you intend to ...
• vi har tænkt os at ... = we intend to ...

Notice that the middle pronoun changes with the subject:

• mig
• dig
• sig
• os
• jer

Because the subject is vi = we.

In this expression, Danish uses a reflexive pronoun that matches the subject:

• jeg har tænkt mig at
• du har tænkt dig at
• han/hun har tænkt sig at
• vi har tænkt os at
• I har tænkt jer at
• de har tænkt sig at

So os is there because the subject is vi.

Because tage ... med means take/bring ... along.

The word med adds the idea of bringing something with you.

• tage solcreme = take sunscreen
• tage solcreme med = bring sunscreen along

In Danish, this kind of verb often gets split:

• tage ... med
• komme ... med
• have ... med

So even though tage med belongs together in meaning, the object can appear in between:

• tage solcreme med

Because stranden means the beach.

Again, Danish usually puts the definite article at the end of the noun:

• strand = beach
• stranden = the beach

So til stranden means to the beach.

This sounds natural because in context it usually means a specific destination: the beach.

Here it means to the beach.

The preposition til often means:

• to
• toward
• sometimes for, depending on context

But with movement or destination, til normally means to:

• vi går til stranden = we walk to the beach
• tage noget med til stranden = bring something to the beach

So in this sentence it clearly expresses destination.

Because it belongs naturally with skinner and tells us when the sunshine would happen.

• Hvis solen skinner i morgen = if the sun shines tomorrow

That timing is part of the condition, so it appears in the if-clause.

You could sometimes move time expressions around in Danish, but this placement is the most straightforward and natural here.

It does both:

• The if-clause gives a possibility: if the sun shines tomorrow
• The main clause gives an intention: we plan to bring sunscreen

So the sunshine is uncertain, but the intention is real under that condition.

That combination is very common in Danish:

• condition + present/future meaning
• followed by a plan or intention

Yes. Danish has several ways to talk about the future, depending on nuance.

For example:

• Hvis solen skinner i morgen, vil vi tage solcreme med til stranden.
  = If the sun shines tomorrow, we will bring sunscreen to the beach.

• Hvis solen skinner i morgen, kommer vi til at tage solcreme med til stranden.
  = If the sun shines tomorrow, we’re going to bring sunscreen to the beach.

But har vi tænkt os at specifically emphasizes intention or plan, not just a neutral future event. So it is a good choice if the speaker wants to say this is what they are planning to do.

A useful breakdown is:

• Hvis = if
• solen = the sun
• skinner = shines
• i morgen = tomorrow

Then:

• har = have
• vi = we
• tænkt os at = intended / planned to
• tage = take
• solcreme = sunscreen
• med = along / with us
• til stranden = to the beach

So grammatically the sentence is:

subordinate clause + main clause

More specifically:

Hvis + subject + verb + time expression, finite verb + subject + rest of main clause

That word order pattern is one of the most important things for learners to notice in Danish.