Lägg kvittot i papperskorgen om du inte behöver det längre.

Lägg is the imperative form of the verb lägga, which means to put / to place / to lay.

So Lägg kvittot i papperskorgen means Put the receipt in the wastepaper basket.

In Swedish, the imperative is often just the verb stem used directly for commands:

• lägga → lägg
• ta → ta
• skriva → skriv

So this is simply a command or instruction.

Kvitto means receipt in its basic form, but kvittot means the receipt.

Swedish often adds the definite article to the end of the noun instead of using a separate word like the.

Here:

• ett kvitto = a receipt
• kvittot = the receipt

So the sentence is talking about a specific receipt: the receipt.

Det refers back to kvittot.

Since kvitto is an ett-word in Swedish, the pronoun used to refer to it is det.

Compare:

• ett kvitto → det
• en bok → den

So om du inte behöver det längre means if you don’t need it anymore, where it = the receipt.

Yes, i literally means in, but in Swedish it is often also used where English would say into, especially with everyday verbs like lägga.

So:

• Lägg kvittot i papperskorgen = Put the receipt in / into the wastepaper basket

Swedish does not always make the same clear distinction between in and into that English does.

Papperskorgen means the wastepaper basket / trash can.

It is made up of:

• papper = paper
• korg = basket
• -en = the

So:

• papperskorg = wastepaper basket
• papperskorgen = the wastepaper basket

Swedish very often forms compound nouns as one word, much more than English does.

That -s- is a common linking sound in Swedish compounds.

The word is built like this:

• papper
• linking -s-
• korg

So you get papperskorg.

This linking -s- does not always have a separate meaning; it often just helps the compound sound natural. English speakers often notice this because English does not do this in quite the same way.

Here, om means if.

So:

• om du inte behöver det längre = if you don’t need it anymore

Be careful, because om can also mean about in other contexts:

• Vi pratar om vädret = We are talking about the weather

So the meaning of om depends on context.

In this sentence, längre means any longer / anymore.

It is used together with a negative:

• inte ... längre = not ... anymore / no longer

So:

• du behöver det inte längre
• du inte behöver det längre

both express the idea you don’t need it anymore.

This is a very common Swedish pattern:

• Jag bor inte där längre = I don’t live there anymore
• Hon arbetar inte här längre = She doesn’t work here anymore

Because after om meaning if, Swedish uses subordinate clause word order.

In this clause:

• du = subject
• inte = negation
• behöver = verb

So the order is:

• om du inte behöver det längre

This is normal Swedish subordinate clause order: the negation usually comes before the finite verb.

Compare:

Main clause:

• Du behöver inte det längre. = You don’t need it anymore.

Subordinate clause:

• ... om du inte behöver det längre. = ... if you don’t need it anymore.

That difference in word order is very important in Swedish grammar.

Yes, you could, but the nuance is slightly different.

• Lägg kvittot i papperskorgen = Put the receipt in the wastepaper basket
• Släng kvittot = Throw away the receipt

Lägg sounds a bit more literal and physical: place it in the bin. Släng focuses more on the idea of throwing it away.

In many everyday situations, both would sound natural.

Yes, behöver is the present tense of behöva (to need).

Here are some forms:

• behöva = to need
• behöver = need / needs / am needing / are needing depending on context
• behövde = needed

In this sentence, present tense is natural because it refers to your current situation:

• if you don’t need it anymore

Usually, no. In this kind of negative sentence, Swedish normally uses längre, not mer.

Natural:

• Jag behöver det inte längre. = I don’t need it anymore.

Less natural or wrong in this meaning:

• Jag behöver det inte mer.

For no longer / not anymore, inte längre is the standard expression.

Then you would usually say:

• Lägg ett kvitto i papperskorgen ... = Put a receipt in the wastepaper basket ...

But in this context, kvittot is much more natural because the speaker probably means a specific receipt that both people understand.

So:

• kvitto = receipt
• ett kvitto = a receipt
• kvittot = the receipt