Vi borde ha kontrollerat rubriken innan vi skrev ut kopian.

It is the Swedish way to say should have checked.

• borde = should / ought to
• ha = have
• kontrollerat = the form used after ha, similar to English checked in have checked

So:

• Vi borde kontrollera rubriken = We should check the heading
• Vi borde ha kontrollerat rubriken = We should have checked the heading

This structure is very common in Swedish:

• borde ha gjort = should have done
• kunde ha sagt = could have said
• ville ha sett = wanted to have seen

It often expresses regret, criticism, or hindsight.

Because after ha, Swedish normally uses the supine form, not the simple past form.

For the verb kontrollera:

• infinitive: kontrollera
• present: kontrollerar
• past: kontrollerade
• supine: kontrollerat

So:

• Vi kontrollerade rubriken = We checked the heading
• Vi har kontrollerat rubriken = We have checked the heading
• Vi borde ha kontrollerat rubriken = We should have checked the heading

A useful rule:

• after ha -> use the supine
• without ha, for a finished past action -> often use the past tense

Because skriva ut is a particle verb. It works like English print out.

• skriva = write
• skriva ut = print out

In many Swedish sentences, the particle stays separate:

• Vi skrev ut kopian = We printed out the copy
• Han kastade bort boken = He threw away the book
• Hon stängde av datorn = She turned off the computer

So skrev ut is not two unrelated words. It is one verb idea: printed out.

With this particle verb, the usual word order is:

verb + particle + object

So:

• skrev ut kopian = correct
• skrev kopian ut = not normal here

Compare:

• Hon slog på lampan = She turned on the lamp
• Vi delade ut pappren = We handed out the papers

The particle belongs closely with the verb.

The base form is skriva ut.

Here are some useful forms:

• infinitive: skriva ut = to print out
• present: skriver ut = prints out / is printing out
• past: skrev ut = printed out
• supine: skrivit ut = printed out after ha

Examples:

• Jag ska skriva ut dokumentet = I am going to print out the document
• Jag skrev ut dokumentet = I printed out the document
• Jag har skrivit ut dokumentet = I have printed out the document

Because Swedish often uses the definite form when talking about a specific thing already understood in the situation.

• rubrik = a heading / a title

• rubriken = the heading / the title

• kopia = a copy
• kopian = the copy

In this sentence, it sounds like both are specific:

• the heading of the document
• the copy they printed

This is very natural in Swedish.

Compare:

• Vi läste en rubrik = We read a heading
• Vi kontrollerade rubriken = We checked the heading

innan means before.

It introduces the time clause:

• innan vi skrev ut kopian = before we printed out the copy

So the sentence is structured like this:

• main clause: Vi borde ha kontrollerat rubriken
• time clause: innan vi skrev ut kopian

This is very common:

• Tvätta händerna innan du äter = Wash your hands before you eat
• Hon gick hem innan mötet började = She went home before the meeting started

Because innan introduces a subordinate clause, and Swedish subordinate clauses normally keep the subject before the verb:

• innan vi skrev ut kopian

In this particular sentence, it looks similar to normal English order, so nothing seems strange yet. The difference becomes clearer if you add a sentence adverb like inte:

• main clause: Vi skrev inte ut kopian
• subordinate clause: innan vi inte skrev ut kopian would show the typical subordinate placement, though that exact sentence is not very natural in meaning

A more natural comparison:

• main clause: Vi skrev aldrig ut kopian
• subordinate clause: innan vi aldrig... again not natural in meaning, but it shows that subordinate clauses behave differently

For a learner, the key point here is simple: innan starts a subordinate time clause.

Formally, yes, borde is related to bör. But in practice, in modern Swedish, borde often functions as the normal form for should / ought to, especially in sentences like this.

Compare:

• Du bör läsa den här boken = You ought to read this book
  This can sound a bit formal or written.
• Du borde läsa den här boken = You should read this book
  This is very common and natural.

And for past meaning:

• Du borde ha läst den här boken = You should have read this book

So in this sentence, borde is simply the natural modal verb meaning should.

Usually no, not if you mean we should have checked the heading.

• borde ha kontrollerat = should have checked
• skulle ha kontrollerat more often means would have checked

That is an important difference:

• Vi borde ha kontrollerat rubriken = it was the right thing to do
• Vi skulle ha kontrollerat rubriken = we would have checked the heading

So borde expresses obligation, recommendation, or regret.
skulle usually expresses future-in-the-past, conditional meaning, or reported speech.

No, kontrollera usually means check, inspect, or verify in Swedish, not control in the English sense.

So:

• kontrollera rubriken = check the heading/title

This is a common false friend for English speakers.

English control is often:

• styra = control/manage/direct
• ha kontroll över = have control over

Examples:

• Jag måste kontrollera stavningen = I need to check the spelling
• Hon kontrollerade biljetten = She checked the ticket

So in this sentence, kontrollerat definitely means checked, not controlled.

It can mean either, depending on context.

rubrik can be:

• a heading
• a title
• a headline

In this sentence, if they are printing a document, heading or title are both possible translations. The exact English word depends on what kind of text it is.

Examples:

• tidningsrubrik = newspaper headline
• rubriken till en uppsats = the title of an essay
• en rubrik i ett dokument = a heading in a document

Yes, very likely.

Vi borde ha kontrollerat rubriken... usually suggests that they did not check it, and that this was a mistake.

So the implied idea is:

• We did not check the heading.
• In hindsight, that would have been the right thing to do.

That is exactly the kind of feeling Swedish borde ha + supine often gives.