Myndigheten säger att vi måste skicka in blanketten före fredag.

Myndigheten is the definite singular form: the authority / the agency.

• en myndighet = an authority / an agency
• myndigheten = the authority / the agency

Swedish usually puts definiteness on the noun itself with an ending, instead of always using a separate word like the in English.

Here, the speaker means a specific authority already known from the context.

Att means that here.

It introduces a subordinate clause:

• Myndigheten säger = The authority says
• att vi måste skicka in blanketten före fredag = that we have to submit the form before Friday

So att links the two parts of the sentence together, just like English that.

Because after att, Swedish uses subordinate clause word order, where the subject normally comes before the verb:

• att vi måste ...
• that we must ...

This is different from main-clause Swedish, where the verb often comes in second position.

Compare:

• Vi måste skicka in blanketten. = main clause
• Myndigheten säger att vi måste skicka in blanketten. = subordinate clause after att

So vi måste is the normal order here.

Because måste is a modal verb, and modal verbs in Swedish are followed by the bare infinitive.

So you say:

• vi måste skicka
• not vi måste att skicka

This works like English:

• we must send
• not we must to send

Common Swedish modal verbs include:

• kan = can
• vill = want to
• ska = will / shall / going to
• måste = must / have to

All of them are followed by a verb without att.

Skicka in is a particle verb. It works like English send in.

• skicka = send
• skicka in = send in / submit

In this sentence, skicka in blanketten means submit the form.

This is very common in Swedish: a basic verb plus a small particle changes the meaning.

Other examples:

• skriva under = sign
• fylla i = fill in
• lämna in = hand in / submit

So it is best to learn skicka in as one vocabulary item.

Because the sentence refers to the form, not just a form.

• en blankett = a form
• blanketten = the form

Again, Swedish marks definiteness with an ending on the noun.

So:

• skicka in blankett would sound incomplete or unnatural in this context
• skicka in blanketten means a specific form that both speaker and listener know about

It comes from the common-gender noun en blankett.

The pattern is:

• en blankett = a form
• blanketten = the form

For many en-words, the definite singular ends in -en.

Because blankett already ends in -ett, the result becomes blanketten.

So the final -en is the definite ending.

Because days of the week are usually used without the definite form in this kind of time expression.

• före fredag = before Friday
• på fredag = on Friday

Using fredagen would usually sound more specific and context-bound, like the Friday in question, not just Friday as a calendar day.

So in ordinary deadline expressions, fredag is the natural choice.

Literally, före fredag means before Friday.

So if you want to be very precise, it suggests before Friday begins.

In real-life usage, if the deadline includes Friday, Swedish more often says something like:

• senast fredag = by Friday / no later than Friday
• senast på fredag = by Friday

So learners should notice this nuance:

• före fredag = before Friday
• senast fredag / senast på fredag = by Friday

Often, yes. Both före and innan can mean before.

So these can both work:

• före fredag
• innan fredag

In many everyday contexts, the difference is small. But före is often a little more straightforward in time expressions like this one.

A useful rough guide:

• före = before
• innan = before, often with a slight sense of before something happens

In this sentence, före fredag sounds completely natural.

Säger is the present tense of säga (to say):

• säga = to say
• säger = says / is saying

So Myndigheten säger means The authority says.

Måste expresses obligation: must / have to.

So:

• vi måste skicka in blanketten = we must / have to submit the form

Even though English often uses have to, Swedish commonly uses måste for that meaning.

It has two parts:

1. Main clause: Myndigheten säger
2. Subordinate clause: att vi måste skicka in blanketten före fredag

So the structure is:

• [Subject] + [verb] + att + [subordinate clause]

Broken down:

• Myndigheten = subject
• säger = main verb
• att = that
• vi = subject of the subordinate clause
• måste = modal verb
• skicka in = infinitive verb phrase
• blanketten = object
• före fredag = time expression

This is a very common and useful Swedish sentence pattern.