Förr brukade han skriva brev, men nu läser han allt på en skärm.

Here förr means in the past / formerly / back then.

It is not the same as English before in the sense of comparing two events, like before dinner or before I left. Swedish förr usually refers more generally to an earlier time.

So in this sentence, Förr brukade han skriva brev means something like In the past, he used to write letters.

Both are possible in Swedish, but the word order changes because förr comes first.

Swedish is a V2 language, which means that in a main clause, the finite verb normally comes in the second position.

So:

• Han brukade skriva brev. = He used to write letters.
• Förr brukade han skriva brev. = In the past, he used to write letters.

Since förr is placed first, the verb brukade must come next, and the subject han comes after the verb.

Brukade is the past tense of bruka, and in this kind of sentence it means used to.

Pattern:

• bruka + infinitive

So:

• brukade skriva = used to write
• brukade läsa = used to read

It describes a habitual action in the past, not just a single event.

So Förr brukade han skriva brev means that writing letters was something he did regularly in the past.

Because after bruka in this meaning, Swedish normally uses the infinitive without att.

So you say:

• Han brukade skriva brev.

Not:

• Han brukade att skriva brev.

This is similar to English used to write, where you also do not insert an extra word like to in the wrong place.

Skriva brev means write letters in a general sense.

Swedish often leaves out the article when talking about something in a general or indefinite plural-like way. Compare:

• skriva brev = write letters / do letter-writing
• skriva ett brev = write a letter (one specific letter)
• skriva breven = write the letters (specific letters already known)

So here brev is used generically, which fits the idea of a past habit.

Because brev is a neuter noun whose indefinite singular and indefinite plural forms are the same.

So:

• ett brev = a letter
• flera brev = several letters

The definite forms are different:

• brevet = the letter
• breven = the letters

This is very common in Swedish, so learners often need to get used to nouns whose singular and plural look identical in some forms.

For the same reason as in the first clause: Swedish main clauses usually follow the V2 rule.

When nu comes first, the finite verb must come second:

• Nu läser han allt på en skärm.

Not:

• Nu han läser allt på en skärm.

If the subject comes first, then you get:

• Han läser nu allt på en skärm.

That version is possible, but it sounds a bit different in emphasis. In your sentence, nu is highlighted first: now he reads everything on a screen.

Here allt means everything or all of it.

So:

• nu läser han allt på en skärm = now he reads everything on a screen

It refers generally to all the reading material that used to be in letters or on paper.

A learner should also know that allt is the neuter form of all, but here it functions as a pronoun meaning everything.

Because Swedish normally says på en skärm for on a screen.

This matches English fairly closely:

• on a screen = på en skärm

Using i would usually suggest being physically inside something, which does not fit here.

So:

• läsa något på en skärm = read something on a screen

Because the sentence contrasts past habit with current habit.

• Förr brukade han skriva brev = what he used to do in the past
• men nu läser han allt på en skärm = what he does now

This is a very natural tense combination in both Swedish and English when comparing past and present behavior.

Yes, depending on style and nuance. Some possible alternatives are:

• Tidigare = earlier / previously
• Förr i tiden = in the old days / in earlier times

Examples:

• Tidigare brukade han skriva brev...
• Förr i tiden brukade han skriva brev...

But förr is short, natural, and very common here.

It is non-specific: a screen.

The sentence is not talking about one particular screen that has already been identified. It just means that now he reads things digitally, on some kind of screen.

If it were specific, you might see:

• på skärmen = on the screen
• på den där skärmen = on that screen

So på en skärm keeps the meaning general.