Learn Swedish: Jag borde ha budat utan tvekan. - I should have bid without hesitation.

To express something you should have done in the past but didn't, Swedish uses borde ha followed by the supine form of the verb. Here, borde is the past tense of böra (ought to), ha is the infinitive, and budat is the supine form of buda (to bid).

What kind of bidding does budat refer to in Swedish?

The verb buda is very commonly used for bidding on an apartment or house, which is a big part of Swedish property culture. It can also mean to send something by courier, but the phrase utan tvekan (without hesitation) strongly points to making a financial bid.

Why does the word tvekan end in -an? Is it a definite noun?

No, tvekan (hesitation) is not in the definite form, even though that -an ending looks like one. It is a base abstract noun formed from the verb tveka (to hesitate). These -an nouns are usually uncountable, so it stays as tvekan in almost all contexts.

How would this sentence change in casual spoken Swedish?