Breakdown of Podden borde du lyssna på.
du
you (singular)
lyssna på
to listen to
böra
should, ought to
podden
the podcast
Questions & Answers about Podden borde du lyssna på.
Why is the object Podden at the start of the sentence instead of the subject du?
Moving the object to the front of the sentence is a common technique called topicalization. It puts emphasis on Podden (the podcast), making it the main focus of the sentence. It is similar to saying 'As for the podcast, you ought to listen to it.'
Since Podden is at the beginning, why does it say borde du instead of du borde?
Swedish is a strict 'verb-second' (V2) language. This means the finite verb (borde) must be the second grammatical piece of the main clause. Because Podden takes up the first position, the verb comes second, which forces the subject du into the third position.
Why is the preposition på left at the very end of the sentence?
The full verb phrase is lyssna på (listen to). Because the object of that phrase (Podden) was moved to the front of the sentence for emphasis, the preposition gets left behind at the end. This is completely natural in Swedish.
Is borde in the past tense here?
Grammatically, borde is the past tense form of the verb böra. However, it is almost exclusively used as a modal verb to mean 'should' or 'ought to' for present or future situations, which is exactly how it functions here.