Learn Swedish: Vi sorterar ju skräpet för att skydda miljön. - We sort the rubbish, of course, in order to protect the environment.

För att translates to "in order to" or "for the purpose of". In Swedish, when you want to explain the specific reason why an action is being done, you use för att followed by a verb in its infinitive form, like skydda (protect). Just using att wouldn't properly express the purpose of the action.

What exactly does the word ju do in this sentence?

Ju is a small particle word that often translates to "as you know," "obviously," or "of course." By placing ju after the verb, the speaker is gently reminding the listener of a shared fact, implying that both of you already agree on why you sort the rubbish.

How can we tell the gender of skräp and miljö just from reading this sentence?

You can figure it out by looking at their definite suffixes (the "the" endings). Skräpet (the rubbish) ends in -et, which tells you it is an ett-word (ett skräp). Miljön (the environment) ends in -n, which tells you it is an en-word that ends in a vowel (en miljö).

If I wanted to start the sentence with the phrase "In order to protect the environment...", how would the word order change?