Learn Swedish: Jag borde ha läst katalogen före auktionen. - I should have read the catalogue before the auction.

To express an unfulfilled past obligation (something you "should have done"), Swedish uses borde ha followed by the supine form of the verb. The supine is the same form you use after har or hade. Just like in English, you say "have read" (ha läst), not "have readed/past tense" (ha läste).

Is it possible to drop the word ha in this sentence?

Yes! In both spoken and informal written Swedish, it is extremely common to drop ha after modal verbs like borde, kunde, and skulle. Saying or writing Jag borde läst katalogen sounds very natural and means exactly the same thing.

Could I use innan instead of före in this sentence?

Yes, you will often hear innan auktionen in everyday speech. However, traditionally, före is a preposition used before a noun (like auktionen), while innan is a conjunction used before a full clause (like innan auktionen började). Using före before a noun is the safest and most standard choice in formal writing.

If I want to emphasize "before the auction" by putting it at the start of the sentence, how does the word order change?