M'agrada el cafè al matí.

Because agradar works differently from English to like.

In Catalan, agradar is closer to to be pleasing to. So:

• M'agrada el cafè literally works like Coffee is pleasing to me
• m' = to me
• agrada = is pleasing
• el cafè = the thing that is pleasing

So the person who likes something is usually shown with an indirect object pronoun such as:

• m' / em = to me
• t' / et = to you
• li = to him/her
• ens = to us
• us = to you all
• els / els hi in some varieties = to them

That is why Jo agrado el cafè is not correct for I like coffee.

M' is a shortened form of em, which means to me.

Before a vowel or silent h, em often becomes m':

• M'agrada = Em agrada
• M'encanta = Em encanta

So in this sentence, M'agrada means I like in the Catalan way of expressing it, but literally it is more like It pleases me.

Because the verb agrees with the thing being liked, not with the person.

Here, the subject is el cafè, which is singular, so you use agrada:

• M'agrada el cafè = I like coffee

If the thing liked is plural, then you use agraden:

• M'agraden els cafès d'especialitat = I like specialty coffees
• M'agraden les pomes = I like apples

So:

• singular thing → agrada
• plural thing → agraden

Catalan often uses the definite article with general nouns where English does not.

So el cafè can mean coffee in a general sense, not only the coffee in a specific situation.

This is very normal in Catalan:

• M'agrada el cafè = I like coffee
• M'agrada la música = I like music
• Odio el soroll = I hate noise

For an English speaker, this can feel unusual at first, but it is standard Catalan usage.

Usually, no. In a sentence like this, el is normally needed.

M'agrada el cafè is the natural standard way to say I like coffee.

Leaving out the article would sound incomplete or nonstandard in most contexts.

Al matí means in the morning.

It is made from:

• a + el = al
• matí = morning

So literally it is something like in the morning / during the morning.

In this sentence:

• M'agrada el cafè al matí = I like coffee in the morning

Because al is the contraction of a + el.

Since matí is a masculine singular noun, it normally takes el:

• el matí = the morning

And when a comes before el, they contract:

• a + el → al

So:

• al matí = in the morning

This kind of contraction is very common in Catalan.

Yes. Catalan word order is somewhat flexible.

These are all possible, depending on emphasis and style:

• M'agrada el cafè al matí
• Al matí m'agrada el cafè

The first one is very neutral. The second gives a bit more emphasis to in the morning.

A simple guide for an English speaker:

• cafè ≈ kah-FEH
• matí ≈ mah-TEE

The written accents show the stressed syllable:

• cafè has stress on the last syllable
• matí also has stress on the last syllable

And agrada is pronounced roughly uh-GRAH-duh in Central Catalan, though exact vowel quality varies by dialect.

The accent marks help show stress and sometimes vowel quality.

In this sentence:

• cafè tells you the stress falls on the last syllable: ca-fè
• matí tells you the stress falls on the last syllable: ma-tí

Without those accents, a learner might guess the wrong stress pattern.

In cafè, the accent also indicates an open è vowel in standard pronunciation.

Usually it means coffee in general.

Even though el cafè literally looks like the coffee, Catalan often uses the definite article for general categories.

So the sentence is normally understood as:

• I like coffee in the morning

If you wanted to refer to a specific coffee, context would usually make that clear.

You keep agrada if the thing liked is singular, and you change the pronoun:

• M'agrada el cafè al matí = I like coffee in the morning
• T'agrada el cafè al matí = You like coffee in the morning
• Li agrada el cafè al matí = He/She likes coffee in the morning
• Ens agrada el cafè al matí = We like coffee in the morning
• Us agrada el cafè al matí = You all like coffee in the morning

If the thing liked becomes plural, then use agraden instead.

You put no before the pronoun and verb group:

• No m'agrada el cafè al matí = I do not like coffee in the morning

That is the normal way to negate it in Catalan.