Hun siger, at hun har travlt, fordi hun skal nå et møde.

She says she’s busy because she has to make it to a meeting.

Breakdown of Hun siger, at hun har travlt, fordi hun skal nå et møde.

• et: a
• have: to have
• hun: she
• fordi: because

Questions & Answers about Hun siger, at hun har travlt, fordi hun skal nå et møde.

Why is at used after siger?

In Danish, at often introduces an embedded clause (a “that-clause”), much like English that:
Hun siger, at … = She says (that) …
You can sometimes omit at in informal Danish, especially in speech, but in writing it’s common and clear to include it.

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Why does Danish repeat hun ( Hun siger, at hun … ) instead of leaving it out?

Danish normally requires an explicit subject in each clause. So the embedded clause needs its own subject:

• Hun siger, at hun har travlt (correct)
  Omitting the second hun would sound ungrammatical.

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Why are there so many commas in the sentence?

Danish traditionally uses commas to mark subordinate clauses. Here you have two subordinate clauses: 1) at hun har travlt (introduced by at)
2) fordi hun skal nå et møde (introduced by fordi)

So commas separate the main clause and each subordinate clause:
Hun siger, at hun har travlt, fordi …

(You’ll also see different comma styles in Danish, but this comma placement is very common.)

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What is the structure of the whole sentence?