Learn Swedish: Grannen sa att hon aldrig skulle sprida lögnen. - The neighbor said that she would never spread the lie.

This is an example of backshifting in indirect speech. If the neighbor were speaking directly, she would have said, "Jag ska aldrig sprida lögnen" (I will never spread the lie). But because the main reporting verb is in the past tense (sa), the future tense ska (will) shifts back into its past form, skulle (would).

Why is aldrig placed before skulle? I thought adverbs usually go after the verb.

Because this is a subordinate clause, introduced by att (that). Subordinate clauses in Swedish follow a special word order often taught as the "BIFF rule". This rule dictates that sentence adverbs like aldrig (never) or inte (not) must be placed before the first conjugated verb. That is why it becomes hon aldrig skulle, rather than hon skulle aldrig.

Is it grammatically correct to write sa, or should it be sade?

While sade is the traditional, formal spelling for the past tense of säga (to say), sa is the spelling that matches actual pronunciation. It is completely accepted in everyday writing, modern literature, and news articles. You only need to use sade in highly formal texts.

Does grannen specifically mean a female neighbor?