Jag minns inte namnet på författaren.

Jag is the subject form of I. It is used because the speaker is the one doing the remembering.

• jag = I
• mig = me

So in this sentence, Jag minns... means I remember / I do not remember...

You would only use mig as an object, for example:

• Han ser mig. = He sees me.

Minns is the present tense of the verb minnas, which means to remember.

So:

• minnas = to remember
• minns = remember / am remembering

This verb is a little unusual because the infinitive ends in -as, but the present form is minns.

Some useful forms:

• att minnas = to remember
• jag minns = I remember
• jag mindes = I remembered
• jag har mints = I have remembered

In everyday Swedish, learners will also often hear komma ihåg for remember.

In a normal Swedish main clause, the finite verb usually comes in second position. This is often called the V2 rule.

So in:

• Jag minns inte namnet på författaren.

the order is:

1. Jag = subject
2. minns = finite verb
3. inte = negation

This is very common in Swedish:

• Jag förstår inte. = I do not understand.
• Hon kommer inte idag. = She is not coming today.

English speakers often want to put inte before the verb, but in a main clause that is usually wrong:

• correct: Jag minns inte
• not normal: Jag inte minns

Because namnet is the definite form: the name.

• ett namn = a name
• namnet = the name

The noun namn is a neuter noun (ett word), so the definite ending is -et:

• ett hus → huset
• ett namn → namnet

Here the speaker is talking about a specific name, so Swedish uses the definite form: namnet.

Författaren means the author, while författare means author / an author.

• en författare = an author
• författaren = the author

The sentence refers to a specific author, not just any author, so Swedish uses the definite form.

Because the phrase means the name of the author, where both things are specific:

• namnet = the name
• författaren = the author

In English, we also often make both parts definite:

• the name of the author

Swedish does the same here. This is completely normal.

Compare:

• ett namn på en författare = a name of an author / a name for an author
• namnet på författaren = the name of the author

The definite forms show that the speaker has a specific author and that author’s specific name in mind.

Swedish often uses på in the expression namnet på ... to mean the name of ...

So:

• namnet på författaren = the name of the author
• namnet på boken = the name/title of the book
• namnet på staden = the name of the city

This is just the normal Swedish pattern. It does not translate word-for-word into English very neatly, but it is idiomatic Swedish.

So when talking about someone’s or something’s name, namnet på ... is very common.

Yes. You can also say:

• Jag minns inte författarens namn.

That uses the genitive:

• författaren = the author
• författarens = the author’s

So these are both possible:

• namnet på författaren
• författarens namn

Both mean essentially the same thing here.

Very roughly:

• författarens namn can sound a bit tighter and more direct, like the author’s name
• namnet på författaren can feel a bit more like the name of the author

Both are good Swedish.

Both are natural, but they can sound slightly different in style and rhythm.

• författarens namn is compact and very common.
• namnet på författaren is also common and completely natural.

Swedish often uses both the genitive and the på construction, depending on what sounds best in context.

For a learner, the important thing is:

• both are correct
• namnet på ... is a very useful and common pattern
• X:s namn is also very common

Yes, absolutely. That is a very common alternative.

• Jag minns inte ...
• Jag kommer inte ihåg ...

Both mean I do not remember ...

Very roughly:

• minnas can sound a bit more direct or slightly more formal/written
• komma ihåg is extremely common in everyday speech

So a learner will hear both a lot.

Yes. Minns is present tense, and that is exactly what Swedish uses here.

• Jag minns inte ... = I don’t remember ...

Even though English uses do not remember, Swedish simply uses the present tense form of the verb with inte:

• jag minns
• jag minns inte

No extra verb like do is needed.

Yes. In a subordinate clause, inte usually comes before the finite verb.

Main clause:

• Jag minns inte namnet på författaren.

Subordinate clause:

• ... att jag inte minns namnet på författaren.
• ... because I don’t remember the author’s name.

So this is a useful contrast:

• main clause: Jag minns inte
• subordinate clause: att jag inte minns

The -en is the definite ending for a common-gender noun:

• en författare = an author
• författaren = the author

As for pronunciation, författare has stress on the second syllable:

• ungefär: fur-FAT-ta-re
• författaren: fur-FAT-ta-ren

The exact vowels are a bit different from English, of course, but the main thing for learners is:

• stress the FAT part
• the final -en is the definite ending

Författare is an en word:

• en författare
• författaren

Unfortunately, you usually just have to learn whether a noun is en or ett. There are some patterns, but they are not perfect.

In this sentence:

• namn is an ett word → ett namn, namnet
• författare is an en word → en författare, författaren

So this sentence is a good example of both noun genders appearing together.

Only partly.

Word-for-word, it is roughly:

• Jag = I
• minns = remember
• inte = not
• namnet = the name
• på = of / on / for, depending on context
• författaren = the author

But a natural English translation would be:

• I don’t remember the author’s name. or
• I don’t remember the name of the author.

So it is better to understand the Swedish structure than to force a literal English one.