Hvis min datter hoster om natten, går jeg ind for at se til hende.

This is because Danish has a verb-second word order rule in main clauses.

When the sentence begins with the if-clause:

Hvis min datter hoster om natten, ...

that whole clause takes the first position. In a Danish main clause, the finite verb then comes next, so you get:

går jeg ind

rather than jeg går ind.

A very literal structure is:

• Hvis min datter hoster om natten = if my daughter coughs at night
• går = go
• jeg = I
• ind = in

This kind of inversion is very common in Danish after anything placed at the front, such as time expressions, adverbs, or subordinate clauses.

For example:

• I morgen går jeg tidligt i seng. = Tomorrow I’m going to bed early.
• Når han kommer, laver vi mad. = When he comes, we make food.

In this sentence, hvis means if.

It introduces a condition:

• Hvis min datter hoster om natten = If my daughter coughs at night

That said, in some contexts English might use when where Danish still uses hvis, depending on how certain or conditional the situation feels. But for learners, the safest basic meaning is:

• hvis = if

Do not confuse it with:

• når = when, whenever, once

A rough guideline:

• hvis = condition, maybe it happens
• når = something expected or repeated

So:

• Hvis min datter hoster ... = If my daughter coughs ...
• Når min datter hoster ... could sound more like whenever she coughs / when she coughs, as a recurring fact

Yes. Danish often uses the present tense where English also uses the present tense in conditional or habitual statements.

Here:

• hoster = coughs / is coughing, depending on context

In English, after if, we also normally use the present:

• If my daughter coughs at night, I go in to check on her.

So the Danish tense is very natural here.

Also, Danish present tense is simple in form:

• infinitive: hoste = to cough
• present: hoster = coughs / is coughing

Danish does not usually distinguish between English coughs and is coughing with different verb forms. Context tells you which meaning is intended.

Om natten means at night or during the night.

The preposition om is often used for repeated times or periods of time:

• om dagen = in the daytime / during the day
• om morgenen = in the morning
• om aftenen = in the evening
• om natten = at night

So in this sentence, om natten suggests at night / during the night, often as a general situation rather than one single specific night.

If you just said natten, that would not work here by itself. Danish usually needs the preposition in this kind of time expression.

Går ind literally means goes in / go inside.

• går = go / walk
• ind = in, inside

In this sentence, går jeg ind means something like I go in—usually into the daughter’s room.

The little word ind is important because Danish often uses these directional particles to show movement:

• gå ind = go in
• gå ud = go out
• komme ind = come in
• tage hjem = go home

Without ind, går jeg would just mean I walk / I go, which is less specific.

For at means in order to or simply to, when expressing purpose.

So:

• går jeg ind for at se til hende = I go in to check on her = literally, I go in in order to look after/check on her

This is a very common Danish structure:

• Jeg kom for at hjælpe. = I came to help.
• Han ringede for at spørge. = He called to ask.

So whenever you want to express purpose, for at + infinitive is a very useful pattern.

Se til is an idiomatic expression. It means something like:

• check on
• look in on
• see how someone is doing

So:

• se til hende = check on her

This is not just the plain verb se = see in the visual sense. The preposition til changes the meaning.

Compare:

• Jeg ser hende. = I see her.
• Jeg ser til hende. = I check on her / look after her briefly

This is a very useful phrase in family and caregiving contexts.

Because hende is the object form of she.

Danish pronouns work like English here:

• hun = she
• hende = her

Since she is the object of se til, you need hende:

• ... se til hende = check on her

Compare:

• Hun hoster. = She coughs.
• Jeg ser til hende. = I check on her.

So the same person can be:

• hun when she is the subject
• hende when she is the object

Because the sentence starts with a subordinate clause:

• Hvis min datter hoster om natten,

and then moves to the main clause:

• går jeg ind for at se til hende.

In standard Danish writing, a comma is commonly used to separate these parts. Learners will often see this with clauses introduced by words like:

• hvis = if
• når = when
• fordi = because
• at = that

So the comma helps show where the first clause ends and the main statement begins.

Yes, sometimes Danish can use så in conditional sentences, just like English can sometimes say if ..., then ....

For example:

• Hvis min datter hoster om natten, så går jeg ind for at se til hende.

This is understandable and natural in many contexts.

However, så is often omitted, especially in normal neutral statements. So the original sentence without så is completely standard and very common.

You can think of it like this:

• Hvis ..., går jeg ... = neutral, common
• Hvis ..., så går jeg ... = slightly more explicit, like if ..., then I ...

It most naturally sounds habitual or general:

• If my daughter coughs at night, I go in to check on her.

That is because:

• the sentence uses present tense
• om natten often suggests a general time setting
• the if-clause sounds like a repeated situation

If you wanted to make it clearly about one specific occasion, Danish would usually add more context, such as:

• Hvis min datter hoster i nat, går jeg ind for at se til hende. = If my daughter coughs tonight, I’ll go in to check on her.

So the original sentence is best understood as a general pattern or routine.

Yes. Gå often overlaps with both walk and go in English.

• gå can mean physically walk
• but in many everyday situations it also means simply go

In this sentence, går jeg ind is best translated as I go in, not necessarily I walk in. The important idea is movement into the room, not the exact manner of movement.

This is very normal in Danish. English often chooses go, while Danish often uses gå in contexts where no special emphasis is placed on walking specifically.