Jeg kan drikke kaffe nå.

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Breakdown of Jeg kan drikke kaffe nå.

• drikke: to drink
• nå: now
• kunne: can

Questions & Answers about Jeg kan drikke kaffe nå.

Why is kan placed before drikke in this sentence?

In Norwegian, modal verbs such as kan (can) almost always come before the main verb. So Jeg kan drikke literally reflects I can drink, keeping the modal (kan) directly in front of the verb (drikke).

What is the difference between drikke kaffe and drikke kaffen?

Using kaffe (coffee) without an article indicates a general, unspecified amount of coffee. Saying kaffen (the coffee) would refer to a specific coffee, usually one that has already been mentioned or is uniquely identified in the context.

Why is nå at the end of the sentence?

In Norwegian, short adverbs like nå (now) often appear later in the sentence. You could place nå elsewhere, but putting it at the end is a typical, natural-sounding word order.

Why do we say Jeg and not Meg?

Jeg is the subject pronoun meaning I, while meg is the object pronoun meaning me. Since you are the one performing the action of drinking coffee, Jeg is required instead of meg.

How would the sentence change if I wanted to say I cannot drink coffee now?

To make it negative, you would insert ikke after kan: Jeg kan ikke drikke kaffe nå. This directly translates to I can not drink coffee now in English.