I morges sagde hun, at hoften gør mindre ondt, men at hun stadig ikke kan sidde længe.

I morges is a fixed expression meaning this morning / earlier this morning.

• i often appears in Danish time expressions
• morges refers specifically to the morning of the current day

So:

• I morges = this morning
• i går morges = yesterday morning

You may sometimes see morges in certain expressions, but i morges is the normal standard phrase learners should use.

This is because Danish main clauses follow the V2 rule: the finite verb usually comes in second position.

The sentence begins with the time expression I morges, which takes the first position. That forces the verb sagde into second position, and the subject hun comes after it.

So the structure is:

• I morges = first element
• sagde = finite verb in second position
• hun = subject

Compare:

• Hun sagde det i morges.
• I morges sagde hun det.

Both are correct, but the word order changes because of V2.

In Danish, commas are commonly used before subordinate clauses introduced by at.

Here, at hoften gør mindre ondt and at hun stadig ikke kan sidde længe are both subordinate clauses depending on sagde.

So the commas help separate:

• the main clause: I morges sagde hun
• the reported content: at hoften gør mindre ondt, men at hun stadig ikke kan sidde længe

This is very normal in written Danish.

Repeating at after men is natural and clear in Danish when two subordinate clauses are being linked.

So:

• at hoften gør mindre ondt
• men at hun stadig ikke kan sidde længe

This makes it clear that both parts are things she said.

You may sometimes encounter omitted repetition in other contexts, but here men at sounds standard and well-structured.

In effect, the sentence means:

• she said that the hip hurts less
• but that she still cannot sit for long

Hoften means the hip. In Danish, body parts are often expressed with the definite form when the owner is already understood from context.

So instead of saying:

• hendes hofte = her hip

Danish often simply says:

• hoften = the hip

This is especially common when it is obvious whose body part is being discussed.

So at hoften gør mindre ondt naturally means that her hip hurts less.

Gør ondt is the common Danish expression for hurt(s) or be painful.

Literally:

• gør = does / makes
• ondt = painfully / painful in this expression

But you should learn gøre ondt as a whole phrase.

Examples:

• Det gør ondt. = It hurts.
• Min ryg gør ondt. = My back hurts.
• Hoften gør mindre ondt. = The hip hurts less.

English often uses a single verb (hurt), while Danish uses this fixed expression.

Mindre ondt means less pain / hurts less.

With gøre ondt, Danish normally uses adverbs like:

• meget ondt = hurts a lot
• lidt ondt = hurts a little
• mindre ondt = hurts less

So hoften gør mindre ondt means the pain has decreased.

You could sometimes say things like hoften har det bedre in other contexts, but with the expression gøre ondt, mindre ondt is the natural choice.

This is subordinate clause word order.

In a main clause, Danish often puts the finite verb early because of V2. But after at, the clause is subordinate, so adverbs such as stadig and ikke come before the finite verb.

That is why we get:

• hun = subject
• stadig = still
• ikke = not
• kan = can
• sidde = sit
• længe = for a long time / long

Compare:

Main clause:

• Hun kan stadig ikke sidde længe.

Subordinate clause:

• ... at hun stadig ikke kan sidde længe.

This difference is very important in Danish grammar.

Stadig ikke means still not.

• stadig = still
• ikke = not

Together they show that the situation has not changed.

So:

• hun kan ikke sidde længe = she cannot sit for long
• hun kan stadig ikke sidde længe = she still cannot sit for long

The second version suggests that this has been a problem for some time.

Sidde længe means sit for a long time or remain seated for long.

• sidde = sit / be sitting
• længe = for a long time / long

In English, we usually need the phrase for a long time, but Danish can simply use længe.

Examples:

• Jeg kan ikke stå længe. = I can’t stand for long.
• Han kunne ikke sove længe. = He couldn’t sleep long / for very long.
• Hun kan ikke sidde længe. = She can’t sit for long.

Yes.

• sige = to say
• siger = say / says
• sagde = said
• har sagt = have/has said

So:

• Hun siger, at ... = She says that ...
• Hun sagde, at ... = She said that ...

This sentence uses sagde because the reporting happened this morning, so it is in the past.

Sometimes Danish can omit at, especially in informal speech, but it is much more common to keep it than English that.

English:

• She said (that) it hurts less.

Danish normally prefers:

• Hun sagde, at det gør mindre ondt.

In your sentence, keeping at is completely natural and standard, especially in writing. Repeating it after men also makes the sentence clearer.