Startavgiften ska inte överstiga månadsavgiften.

Because Swedish forms compounds very freely. What English often writes as two words, Swedish often writes as one.

• startavgift = start
  • avgift = start fee
• månadsavgift = månad
  • avgift = monthly fee

Then each word gets -en added at the end to make it definite:

• startavgiften = the start fee
• månadsavgiften = the monthly fee

This is very normal in Swedish.

Here, -en is the suffixed definite article, meaning the.

So:

• en avgift = a fee
• avgiften = the fee

The same pattern applies to compounds:

• en startavgift = a start fee

• startavgiften = the start fee

• en månadsavgift = a monthly fee
• månadsavgiften = the monthly fee

Unlike English, Swedish often puts the at the end of the noun instead of as a separate word before it.

In Swedish, definite forms are often used in rules, contracts, price lists, and general statements about specific categories.

So Startavgiften ska inte överstiga månadsavgiften sounds like a formal rule: the start fee must not exceed the monthly fee.

Using the definite form makes both fees sound like clearly defined charges in a particular system or agreement. It is not just any start fee and any monthly fee, but the specific ones being discussed.

Ska is the present tense of skola, but in modern Swedish it is mainly used as a modal verb.

In this sentence, ska means something like:

• shall
• is to
• must
  depending on context

In formal rules and policies, ska often expresses a requirement or rule. So here it means that the start fee is not allowed to be higher than the monthly fee.

Because in a normal Swedish main clause, the negation inte usually comes after the finite verb.

Here the finite verb is ska, so:

• Startavgiften ska inte överstiga månadsavgiften.

This is a standard word-order pattern in Swedish main clauses:

• subject + finite verb + inte
  • infinitive/rest

Compare:

• Jag kommer inte idag. = I am not coming today.
• Hon vill inte gå. = She does not want to go.

So the placement of inte here is completely regular.

Because it comes after the modal verb ska.

After modal verbs in Swedish, the next verb normally stays in the infinitive without att:

• ska överstiga
• kan komma
• vill gå
• måste läsa

So:

• ska inte överstiga = shall/must not exceed

You do not say ska inte att överstiga.

Överstiga means to exceed, to surpass, or to be greater than.

It is a fairly formal verb, often used with:

• prices
• limits
• amounts
• percentages
• legal or administrative language

Examples:

• Beloppet får inte överstiga 1000 kronor. = The amount must not exceed 1000 kronor.
• Temperaturen översteg 30 grader. = The temperature exceeded 30 degrees.

In everyday speech, people might sometimes use other phrasing, but överstiga is very common in formal contexts.

Yes, often it could, but the nuance changes a little.

• ska inte överstiga = should/must not exceed, stated as a rule or requirement
• får inte överstiga = may not exceed, focusing more directly on what is permitted

In many formal contexts, both are possible.
However, ska often sounds like a written rule or policy, while får inte emphasizes prohibition more explicitly.

So both can work, but they are not always identical in tone.

More or less, yes. It is built from:

• månad = month
• avgift = fee

But as a compound, månadsavgift means monthly fee or monthly charge, not just any fee connected to a month in a loose sense.

This is very common in Swedish compounds: the first part modifies the second part.

These words overlap, but they are not identical.

• avgift = fee / charge
  Often used for membership fees, application fees, monthly fees, service charges, etc.

• pris = price
  Usually the price of a product or service.

• kostnad = cost / expense
  A broader word for what something costs.

In this sentence, avgift is the natural word because it refers to a formal charge or fee, not just a general cost.

Because Swedish usually expresses definiteness by adding an ending to the noun:

• avgiften = the fee

The separate words den/det/de can also appear, but usually when there is an adjective:

• avgiften = the fee
• den höga avgiften = the high fee

Since there is no adjective here, the suffixed article -en is enough.

A careful pronunciation would be roughly:

Startavgiften ska inte överstiga månadsavgiften.

A very rough English-friendly guide could be:

STAHRT-ahv-gif-ten ska IN-teh ö-ver-STEE-ga MOO-nads-ahv-gif-ten

A few useful notes:

• å in månad sounds roughly like the vowel in British law
• ö in överstiga has no exact English equivalent
• stress in compounds usually falls mainly on the first part:
  • STARTavgiften
  • MÅNADSavgiften

The verb överstiga usually has stress on sti: över-STI-ga.

Yes. That is a very useful thing to notice.

In a main clause:

• Startavgiften ska inte överstiga månadsavgiften.

In a subordinate clause, inte usually comes before the finite verb:

• ... att startavgiften inte ska överstiga månadsavgiften.
• ... because the start fee must not exceed the monthly fee.

So the sentence you were given follows normal main-clause word order.

Yes, it sounds fairly formal and administrative.

Reasons:

• överstiga is a formal verb
• the structure is concise and rule-like
• ska is often used in policies, regulations, and contracts

This is exactly the kind of sentence you might see in:

• terms and conditions
• membership rules
• pricing regulations
• legal or official documents