Hon lägger saxen bredvid tejpen efter att hon har öppnat lådan.

Swedish often chooses different placement verbs depending on the object's typical position:

• lägga = to lay something down, usually in a horizontal position
• ställa = to stand something up, usually in a vertical position
• sätta = to set/place something into a sitting position, or more broadly to put something somewhere in some contexts

Here, saxen is understood as being placed down flat, so lägger is the natural choice.

A useful contrast:

• Hon lägger boken på bordet. = She lays the book on the table.
• Hon ställer flaskan på bordet. = She stands the bottle on the table.

Saxen means the scissors. Swedish uses the definite form when the object is specific or already known in the situation.

So:

• en sax = a pair of scissors / scissors
• saxen = the scissors

In this sentence, the speaker is talking about a particular, identifiable object, so the definite form is used.

Also note that Swedish often uses the definite form in places where English might still use the, so this is very normal.

In Swedish, sax is normally treated as a common-gender singular noun, even though it refers to an object with two blades.

So:

• en sax
• saxen

English uses scissors, which is grammatically plural in form, but Swedish does not do the same here. This is just a vocabulary difference between the languages.

Yes, bredvid is a preposition meaning beside / next to.

It does not change form based on gender, number, or case. You simply use it before the noun phrase:

• bredvid tejpen = beside the tape
• bredvid lådan = beside the box

So in the sentence, bredvid tejpen is a prepositional phrase telling us where she puts the scissors.

Because tejp is usually a common gender noun in Swedish:

• en tejp
• tejpen

If a noun is common gender, its definite singular form usually ends in -en.
If it is neuter gender, the definite singular usually ends in -et.

Compare:

• en tejp → tejpen
• ett bord → bordet

So tejpen is correct because tejp is an en-word.

In standard Swedish, efter att introduces a clause meaning after.

So:

• efter att hon har öppnat lådan = after she has opened the box

You normally need att before a full clause here.
Without att, it would sound incomplete or nonstandard to many learners in ordinary written Swedish.

However, with a noun phrase instead of a clause, you can use just efter:

• efter öppningen = after the opening
• efter jobbet = after work

But with hon har öppnat lådan, you need efter att.

Har öppnat is the present perfect, and it is very commonly used after efter att when one action is completed before another.

The sentence describes this sequence:

1. she opens the box
2. then she puts the scissors beside the tape

So efter att hon har öppnat lådan emphasizes that the opening is completed before the placing happens.

You may also hear or see efter att hon öppnade lådan, and in some contexts that can also work. But har öppnat is very natural when the speaker wants to highlight the completed earlier action.

Because Swedish subordinate clauses usually do not use main-clause inversion.

After efter att, you have a subordinate clause, and the normal word order is:

• subject + auxiliary + main verb
• hon har öppnat

So:

• efter att hon har öppnat lådan = correct

Compare that with a main clause, where inversion can happen:

• Hon har öppnat lådan.
• Sedan har hon lagt saxen där.

But after a subordinating expression like efter att, you keep the ordinary subordinate-clause order.

Both words can mean box, but låda is a very common everyday Swedish word for a box, drawer, or container-like object.

So:

• en låda = a box
• lådan = the box

Box also exists in Swedish, but it is often used in more specific contexts, such as a cardboard box, a storage box, a mailbox-like compartment, sports boxing, and so on depending on context. Låda is often the more general, everyday choice.

Yes, in this sentence it is natural and correct to repeat hon:

• efter att hon har öppnat lådan

Swedish does not usually omit the subject of a finite clause the way some languages do. Since har öppnat is a full clause, it needs its subject.

So you cannot normally say:

• efter att har öppnat lådan ❌

You need:

• efter att hon har öppnat lådan ✅

Yes. You could say:

• Efter att hon har öppnat lådan lägger hon saxen bredvid tejpen.

That is perfectly natural.

Notice the word order in the main clause after the fronted subordinate clause:

• ... lägger hon ...
• not ... hon lägger ...

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

So:

• Hon lägger saxen bredvid tejpen efter att hon har öppnat lådan.
• Efter att hon har öppnat lådan lägger hon saxen bredvid tejpen.

Both are correct; they just place the focus slightly differently.