Breakdown of Han tryckte förbandet mot benet för att det inte skulle blöda.
han
he
det
it (neuter)
inte
not
för
for, to
att
that
trycka
to press
benet
the leg
skulle
would
mot
towards, against
blöda
to bleed
förbandet
the bandage
Questions & Answers about Han tryckte förbandet mot benet för att det inte skulle blöda.
Why do we use a full clause with skulle instead of just saying för att inte blöda?
When expressing purpose with för att, you can only use a simple infinitive if the subject is the same in both halves of the sentence. Here, the person (han) is pressing, but the leg (det) is bleeding. Because the subjects are different, you must build a full subordinate clause using ska or skulle.
Why is it skulle rather than ska here?
The tense in the för att clause needs to match the time frame of the main action. Since he pressed the bandage in the past (tryckte), we use the past tense skulle (would) instead of the present/future ska (will).
Why is the word order inte skulle and not skulle inte?
Because för att starts a subordinate clause. In Swedish subordinate clauses, sentence adverbs like inte always go before the conjugated verb (skulle). This is often taught as the BIFF rule: I Bisats kommer Inte Före Finita verbet (In subordinate clauses, 'inte' comes before the finite verb).
Why does the sentence use det as the subject of the second clause?
det refers back to the leg (benet), which is an 'ett' word. We need an explicit pronoun here because a new subject must be stated when the actor changes after för att.
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