Hon läste etiketten på förpackningen innan hon öppnade paketet.

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

So in this sentence:

• etikett → etiketten = the label
• förpackning → förpackningen = the packaging / the package
• paket → paketet = the package / the parcel

That is why you do not see a separate word for the.

This is because Swedish nouns have grammatical gender.

• en etikett → etiketten
• en förpackning → förpackningen
• ett paket → paketet

So, in the singular definite form:

• most en-words take -en
• most ett-words take -et

That is why paket behaves differently from etikett and förpackning.

They are close in meaning, but not identical.

• förpackning usually means packaging, container, wrapper, or the thing something is packed in
• paket usually means package, parcel, or pack

So etiketten på förpackningen focuses on the label attached to the outer packaging, while öppnade paketet refers to opening the package itself. In real life, they might refer to the same physical object, but from slightly different angles.

Because på means on, and a label is normally physically on the outside of packaging.

So etiketten på förpackningen means the label located on the packaging. This is a very natural use of på in Swedish, just like English on in this case.

Because innan is the normal choice before a clause with a subject and verb.

Here we have a full clause: innan hon öppnade paketet

That clause contains:

• hon = subject
• öppnade = verb

By contrast, före is more often used before a noun phrase, for example:

• före öppningen = before the opening
• före lunch = before lunch

A good learner rule is:

• use innan before a clause
• use före before a noun

They are both in the preterite, which is the normal simple past tense in Swedish.

• läste = past of läsa = read
• öppnade = past of öppna = opened

So the sentence describes two completed actions in the past: she read the label, and then she opened the package.

Because läsa is the infinitive, meaning to read, while läste is the past-tense form, meaning read in the sense of she read.

This verb changes form:

• läsa = to read
• läser = reads / is reading
• läste = read

So Hon läste means she read.

Because innan hon öppnade paketet is a full subordinate clause, and Swedish normally needs an explicit subject there.

So Swedish must say: innan hon öppnade paketet

You cannot leave out hon. The clause needs its own subject and verb, just like English before she opened the package.

Then Swedish changes the word order in the main clause:

Innan hon öppnade paketet läste hon etiketten på förpackningen.

This happens because Swedish is a V2 language in main clauses: the finite verb usually comes in the second position. When the sentence starts with the subordinate clause, that whole clause takes the first position, so the main verb läste comes before the subject hon.

So:

• Hon läste ... innan hon öppnade ...
• Innan hon öppnade ... läste hon ...

Both are correct.

Because paketet simply means the package, a specific package already understood from the context.

If you said sitt paket, that would more explicitly mean her own package. The original sentence does not need to emphasize ownership; it just refers to the package in question.

So:

• paketet = the package
• sitt paket = her own package

They do not have exact English equivalents, but a rough guide is:

• ä in läste is somewhat like the e in bed
• ö in öppnade and förpackningen is a rounded vowel that English does not really have

A useful beginner trick for ö is: make an e-like sound, but round your lips.

So:

• läste starts with a vowel somewhat like e
• öppnade starts with the special Swedish ö
• för- in förpackningen has the same kind of ö sound

Not perfect, but it is a good starting point.