Wir beschließen das heute.

Because German main clauses normally follow the verb-second rule. That means the finite verb comes in position 2.

In Wir beschließen das heute:

• Wir = position 1
• beschließen = position 2
• das heute = the rest of the sentence

This is one of the most important basic word-order patterns in German.

It is in the present tense.

German present tense often covers both:

• simple present: We decide that today
• near future: We’ll decide that today / We are deciding that today

German very often uses the present tense where English might prefer will or going to, especially when a time word like heute already makes the timing clear.

Das is the direct object of beschließen.

The verb beschließen usually takes something that is being decided:

• Wir beschließen das.
• Wir beschließen den Plan.
• Wir beschließen eine Änderung.

Here, das means that / it, referring to something already known from context.

Grammatically, it is in the accusative case, but das looks the same in nominative and accusative, so there is no visible change.

That is a very common question.

In a sentence like this, das usually points to a specific thing, idea, plan, or matter that has already been mentioned or is understood from context.

• Wir beschließen das heute.
  = We’re deciding that specific thing today.

Using es would sound less natural here in most contexts. German often prefers das when referring back to a whole idea, proposal, or matter under discussion.

So:

• das = more like that / that matter / that issue
• es = more like a general it, but not usually the best choice with beschließen in this kind of sentence

Because adverbs of time are often placed later in the sentence, especially after the object, when the sentence is neutral and straightforward.

So Wir beschließen das heute is a very normal word order.

But German word order is flexible, and you can move heute for emphasis:

• Wir beschließen das heute. = neutral
• Heute beschließen wir das. = emphasizes today
• Das beschließen wir heute. = emphasizes that

All of these are possible, but the emphasis changes.

Yes. German allows different elements to come first, as long as the finite verb stays in second position in a main clause.

Possible versions:

• Wir beschließen das heute.
• Heute beschließen wir das.
• Das beschließen wir heute.

The core meaning stays similar, but the focus changes:

• first version: neutral
• second version: stresses today
• third version: stresses that

This kind of movement is very common in German.

They are similar, but not always identical.

beschließen often means:

• to make a decision
• to decide on something
• to pass or adopt something, especially in a group, official, or formal context

entscheiden is broader and often means simply to decide.

For example:

• Wir beschließen das heute.
  sounds like we will make that decision / formally decide that today
• Wir entscheiden das heute.
  sounds more general: we’ll decide that today

So beschließen can feel a bit more definite, formal, or collective.

It can sound slightly more formal or official than a sentence with entscheiden, because beschließen is often used for:

• committees
• councils
• meetings
• group decisions
• official resolutions

But it is not extremely formal. It is still a normal German verb.

So the sentence could fit:

• a work meeting
• a family discussion
• a committee session
• any group making a clear decision

Here it is conjugated for wir in the present tense:

• ich beschließe
• du beschließt
• er/sie/es beschließt
• wir beschließen
• ihr beschließt
• sie/Sie beschließen

So Wir beschließen is the correct we form.

Also note that beschließen is a strong verb, so some of its forms change their vowel:

• ich beschließe
• past tense: ich beschloss
• past participle: beschlossen

No. beschließen is not separable.

That means the prefix be- stays attached:

• Wir beschließen das heute.
• Wir haben das beschlossen.

Compare that with a separable verb like abschließen:

• Wir schließen das heute ab.

So with beschließen, you never split it into schließen ... be or anything like that.

The perfect tense is:

• Wir haben das heute beschlossen.

This uses:

• haben as the auxiliary
• beschlossen as the past participle

This is very common in spoken German when talking about a completed decision.

So:

• Wir beschließen das heute. = present / near future
• Wir haben das heute beschlossen. = we decided / have decided that today