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”Ta på dig hörlurarna innan inspelningen börjar”, sa han.

”Ta på dig hörlurarna innan inspelningen börjar”, sa han.
"Put on the headphones before the recording starts," he said.
From Lesson 433:Inverted word order after quotes·Swedish

Questions & Answers about ”Ta på dig hörlurarna innan inspelningen börjar”, sa han.

Why is the word order sa han and not han sa after the quote?
The entire direct speech quote acts as the first element in the main sentence. Because Swedish is a V2 (verb-second) language, the verb (sa) must be the second element. This forces an inversion, making the subject (han) come immediately after the verb.
Why do we need the word dig in ta på dig?
To put on clothing or accessories is expressed with the reflexive phrasal verb ta på sig in Swedish. Since this is an imperative (a command) addressed to "you", the reflexive pronoun matches it and becomes dig.
Is it possible to separate the verb and particle here, like in English, and say ta hörlurarna på dig?
No, that sounds unnatural in Swedish. When using a reflexive phrasal verb like ta på sig, the verb, particle, and reflexive pronoun stay tightly together as a unit (ta på dig), and the object (hörlurarna) comes after them.
How does the word inspelningen relate to the Swedish verb for "to record"?
The verb for "to record" is the phrasal verb spela in. To turn this into a noun, the particle in is glued to the front, and the suffix -ning is added to the end to create inspelning (recording). The final -en simply makes it definite (inspelningen).

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