Jeg foreslår, at vi mødes efter arbejde, hvis du ikke har travlt.

I suggest that we meet after work if you’re not busy.

Breakdown of Jeg foreslår, at vi mødes efter arbejde, hvis du ikke har travlt.

• jeg: I
• vi: we
• hvis: if
• efter: after
• arbejdet: the work
• ikke: not
• du: you
• at: that
• mødes: to meet
• foreslå: to suggest
• have travlt: to be busy

Questions & Answers about Jeg foreslår, at vi mødes efter arbejde, hvis du ikke har travlt.

Why is there a comma after foreslår?

Because what follows is a subordinate clause introduced by at (that). In Danish, you normally put a comma before subordinate clauses:

• Jeg foreslår, at vi mødes ... = I suggest that we meet ...

Many learners notice Danish uses commas more “aggressively” than English in these places.

What is at doing here, and do I always need it?

At is the subordinating conjunction meaning that. It introduces the content of what you suggest:

• Jeg foreslår, at vi mødes ... = I suggest that we meet ...

In informal Danish, at is often omitted:

• Jeg foreslår, vi mødes efter arbejde ... Both are common; keeping at can feel a bit more careful/formal.

Why is the word order vi mødes and not something like “meet we” or “we do meet”?

Danish has normal subject–verb order inside this at-clause:

• at vi mødes = that we meet

Unlike main clauses, subordinate clauses do not use the “verb-second” (V2) rule in the same way. So you don’t move the verb forward for emphasis the way English might use do.

What does mødes mean exactly, and why isn’t it møde?

Mødes means meet (each other)—it’s the reciprocal/reflexive form used when both people are participants in the meeting:

• vi mødes = we meet / we’ll meet up

Møde (without -s) is usually:

• transitive: møde nogen = meet someone (encounter them)
• or used in fixed expressions like møde op (show up)

So vi mødes is the natural way to say we meet up.

Does efter arbejde mean “after work” in general, and can I say efter arbejdet?

Yes—efter arbejde is a very common, idiomatic way to mean after work (in general, after the workday).

You can say efter arbejdet, but it tends to sound more specific/definite, like after the work (we’ve been talking about) or after the work is done. In everyday “after work” scheduling, efter arbejde is the default.

Why is there another comma before hvis?

Because hvis du ikke har travlt is another subordinate clause (a condition: if ...). Danish normally separates that with a comma:

• ..., hvis du ikke har travlt. = ..., if you’re not busy.

Why is the word order du ikke har (not du har ikke)?

In Danish subordinate clauses (like hvis-clauses), negation (ikke) typically comes before the finite verb:

• hvis du ikke har travlt (subordinate clause word order)

In a main clause, you’d usually get:

• Du har ikke travlt. (main clause V2 order)

So the clause type changes where ikke goes.

Is travlt an adjective or an adverb, and how does it work with have?

Travlt functions like an adjective meaning busy, but Danish commonly expresses “be busy” with have + travlt:

• at have travlt = to be busy
• Jeg har travlt. = I’m busy.

So hvis du ikke har travlt literally looks like if you don’t have busy, but idiomatically it’s if you’re not busy.

Could I replace hvis du ikke har travlt with something more natural/polite?

Yes. Common alternatives include:

• hvis du har tid = if you have time (often softer)
• hvis det passer dig = if it suits you / if it works for you
• hvis du kan = if you can

Your original sentence is already perfectly natural and polite.

Why is Jeg foreslår in the present tense—does it still refer to the future?

Yes. Danish (like English) often uses the present tense for suggestions and future arrangements:

• Jeg foreslår, at vi mødes ... = I suggest we meet ... (future plan)

You can also make it slightly more tentative with:

• Jeg vil foreslå, at ... = I’d like to suggest that ...