Questions & Answers about Jeg vil helst læse avisen i ro om morgenen.
What does helst mean here?
Helst means preferably, rather, or most willingly. In this sentence, jeg vil helst ... is a very natural way to say I would prefer to ... or I'd rather ....
So:
- Jeg vil læse avisen = I want to read the newspaper
- Jeg vil helst læse avisen = I would prefer to read the newspaper
It adds the idea of preference, not just desire.
Why is it vil and not a word meaning would?
In Danish, vil often covers meanings that English expresses with want to, would like to, or sometimes would rather, depending on context.
Here, vil by itself means something like want to, but together with helst, it becomes softer and more like would prefer to.
So jeg vil helst is not a word-for-word match to English, but it is a normal Danish way to express preference.
Why is læse in the infinitive form?