Läraren sa att vi skulle presentera en kort översättning på fredag, så jag måste översätta texten igen i kväll.

Läraren means the teacher. The ending -en is the definite form of the noun.

• en lärare = a teacher
• läraren = the teacher

Swedish usually adds definiteness to the end of the noun instead of using a separate word like the.

Both sa and sade are correct past forms of säga (to say).

• han sa = he said
• han sade = he said

Sa is very common in everyday Swedish and sounds more natural in ordinary speech and writing. Sade can sound a little more formal or careful.

Here att means that.

• Läraren sa att... = The teacher said that...

In Swedish, att is very commonly used after verbs like säga when introducing a reported statement. In English, that is often optional, but in Swedish att is usually kept.

This is a very common pattern in reported speech.

• Vi ska presentera... = We are going to present... / We will present...
• Läraren sa att vi skulle presentera... = The teacher said that we would / were supposed to present...

When you report what someone said in the past, Swedish often shifts ska to skulle.

So the original direct speech may have been something like:

• Ni ska presentera en kort översättning på fredag.

And when reported later, it becomes:

• Läraren sa att vi skulle presentera en kort översättning på fredag.

Because modal verbs in Swedish are followed directly by the infinitive, without att.

This includes verbs like:

• ska
• skulle
• kan
• kunde
• vill
• måste
• får

So you say:

• vi skulle presentera
• jag måste översätta

Not:

• vi skulle att presentera
• jag måste att översätta

Because översättning is an en-word in Swedish.

• en översättning = a translation
• översättningen = the translation

Since it is an en-word, the adjective also takes the common-gender form:

• en kort översättning = a short translation

Compare:

• ett kort brev = a short letter
• en kort översättning = a short translation

So the adjective form depends on whether the noun is an en-word or an ett-word.

They are different parts of speech:

• översätta = to translate (verb)
• översättning = translation (noun)

In the sentence, both appear:

• presentera en kort översättning = present a short translation
• måste översätta texten = must translate the text

This is a useful pattern in Swedish:

• verb: översätta
• noun: översättning

In Swedish, på is used for specific days and many day expressions.

• på fredag = on Friday
• på måndag = on Monday
• på kvällen = in the evening / during the evening

So på fredag is the normal way to say on Friday.

By contrast, i is used in other time expressions, such as:

• i kväll = tonight / this evening
• i morgon = tomorrow
• i går = yesterday

So you simply have to learn which expressions use på and which use i.

Because så here is a coordinating conjunction, similar to so in English.

After a coordinating conjunction, Swedish usually keeps normal main-clause word order:

• ..., så jag måste översätta texten igen i kväll.

That means:

• subject: jag
• verb: måste

No inversion happens here.

Compare that with an adverb at the beginning of a clause, where inversion often does happen:

• I kväll måste jag översätta texten igen.

So:

• så jag måste... = normal order
• i kväll måste jag... = inverted order

Måste is the present tense of måste/must and often means have to in the current situation.

Here the speaker is saying something like:

• So I have to translate the text again tonight.

Even though the action will happen later in the evening, the obligation exists now, so present tense is natural.

This is similar to English:

• I have to do it tonight.

You would not normally say I had to do it tonight unless the obligation belonged to the past.

Texten means the text.

• en text = a text
• texten = the text

The definite form is used because the speaker is talking about a specific text that both speaker and listener can identify from context, probably the one assigned by the teacher.

Igen means again, and in this sentence it naturally comes after the object:

• översätta texten igen = translate the text again

That is the normal word order here.

Swedish adverb placement can vary somewhat, but översätta igen texten would sound wrong in standard Swedish. The object texten stays together with the verb phrase, and igen comes after it.

Both i kväll and ikväll are used, and both are generally accepted.

• i kväll
• ikväll

They both mean tonight / this evening.

The two-word form may feel slightly more traditional or careful in some contexts, while the one-word form is also very common in modern Swedish. A learner will understand both, and either is usually fine unless you are following a specific style guide.

Yes. Presentera is a common Swedish verb meaning present.

• presentera en översättning = present a translation

It is used when someone shows, gives, or talks through something before others, for example in class or at work.

Depending on context, Swedish might also use other verbs such as visa (show) or redovisa (report/present formally), but presentera is perfectly natural here.

Sometimes skulle can be translated in different ways depending on context, and that can confuse learners.

In this sentence, skulle presentera most naturally means something like:

• were going to present
• would present
• were supposed to present

It is not mainly about moral duty, as English should often is. It is more about a plan, expectation, or instruction reported from the past.

So the idea is:

• the teacher said this was what we were to do on Friday.

Yes, that is a very useful way to read it.

The sentence has:

1. a main clause:
   • Läraren sa...
2. a subordinate clause introduced by att:
   • att vi skulle presentera en kort översättning på fredag
3. another main clause joined by så:
   • så jag måste översätta texten igen i kväll

So the structure is:

• The teacher said
• that we were to present a short translation on Friday,
• so I have to translate the text again tonight.

Seeing the sentence in chunks like that makes long Swedish sentences much easier to understand.