Breakdown of Ministern påstod att han skulle säga upp sig dagen därpå.
han
he
dagen
the day
att
that
påstå
to claim
skulle
would
säga upp sig
to resign
ministern
the minister
därpå
following
Questions & Answers about Ministern påstod att han skulle säga upp sig dagen därpå.
Why does the sentence use dagen därpå instead of i morgon?
Because this is reported speech in the past tense (påstod). If the minister spoke today, he would say 'jag ska säga upp mig i morgon'. But since his claim happened in the past, 'tomorrow' from his perspective is now 'the following day' (dagen därpå) from our perspective. This is a standard time shift in indirect speech.
Why is the verb skulle used instead of ska?
This is another shift required by past-tense reported speech. The minister's original words were likely 'Jag ska...' (I will). When reporting this in the past tense, ska shifts to its past tense form skulle (would) to match the main verb (påstod). This creates the future in the past.
How does the phrase säga upp sig work, and why is sig necessary?
Att säga upp sig is a reflexive phrasal verb that means 'to resign' or 'to quit' a job. The reflexive pronoun sig is crucial here: if you drop it, the verb säga upp means 'to fire' someone or 'to cancel' a subscription. For example, de sa upp ministern means 'they fired the minister'.
What is the infinitive form of påstod?
The infinitive is att påstå (to claim or assert). Because it is a compound built on the basic verb stå (to stand), it follows the exact same irregular conjugation pattern. Since stå becomes stod in the past tense, påstå becomes påstod.
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