Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Jeg drikker for mye kaffe om morgenen.

For mye literally means for much. In modern Norwegian, in most contexts it corresponds to English too much, expressing an excessive amount.

Jeg drikker for mye kaffe. → I drink too much coffee.
Det er for mye støy her. → There is too much noise here.

You would not normally translate for mye as a lot of; that would usually be mye without for:

Jeg drikker mye kaffe. → I drink a lot of coffee. (not necessarily a bad thing)
Jeg drikker for mye kaffe. → I drink too much coffee. (clearly too much)

Why is it for mye kaffe, and not kaffe for mye, like in English coffee too much?

In Norwegian, the normal word order is:

quantity word / amount expression + noun

So you say:

for mye kaffe (too much coffee)
mye vann (a lot of water)
lite sukker (little sugar)
nok tid (enough time)

Putting for mye after kaffe (kaffe for mye) sounds wrong in this sentence. So:

Jeg drikker for mye kaffe om morgenen. ✅
Jeg drikker kaffe for mye om morgenen. ❌ (ungrammatical in this meaning)

What is the function of om in om morgenen, and why not i morgenen or på morgenen?

Here, om is a time preposition meaning in or in the when talking about a general, repeated time of day:

om morgenen → in the morning (as a general habit)
om kvelden → in the evening

You do not say i morgenen in this meaning. På morgenen can be heard, but:

om morgenen is the most standard and natural way to say in the mornings / in the morning (generally).

Compare:

Jeg trener om morgenen. → I work out in the morning (as a habit).
Jeg trente i morges. → I worked out this morning (one specific morning; different expression).

Why is it morgenen (definite form) and not just morgen?

Norwegian often uses the definite form of time-of-day words to talk about a general, habitual situation:

om morgenen → literally in the morning-the, but meaning in the morning / in the mornings.
om kvelden → in the evening / in the evenings.
om natten → at night / at nights.

So:

Jeg drikker for mye kaffe om morgenen.
= I drink too much coffee (habitually) in the morning(s).

Using just om morgen is ungrammatical here. The definite form is required in this fixed expression.

Can I move om morgenen to the beginning of the sentence?

Yes. Norwegian allows fairly free movement of time expressions. You can say:

Om morgenen drikker jeg for mye kaffe.

This is perfectly correct and quite natural. It puts a bit more emphasis on in the morning.

Word order patterns:

Jeg drikker for mye kaffe om morgenen. (neutral)
Om morgenen drikker jeg for mye kaffe. (emphasis on time)

But you still keep for mye before kaffe.

Can I leave out jeg and just say Drikker for mye kaffe om morgenen?

In informal spoken Norwegian, people sometimes drop the subject jeg if it’s very clear from context, especially in short answers:

Hva gjør du om morgenen?
(Jeg) drikker for mye kaffe.

But as a full, standalone sentence, you normally keep the subject:

Jeg drikker for mye kaffe om morgenen. ✅
Drikker for mye kaffe om morgenen. ❓ (feels like a fragment; OK in very casual speech or notes)

For writing and for learners, always include jeg.

Does drikker mean I am drinking or I drink?

Drikker is the present tense of å drikke (to drink). Norwegian does not normally make a separate progressive form like am drinking.

So Jeg drikker can mean:

I drink (habitually, in general)
I am drinking (right now), depending on context.

In the sentence:

Jeg drikker for mye kaffe om morgenen.

the presence of om morgenen (in the morning(s)) clearly makes it habitual, so we translate it as:

I drink too much coffee in the morning.

Why is there no article before kaffe? Why not for mye en kaffe or something like that?

Kaffe here is a mass noun (like water, sugar, wine) and in Norwegian you do not use an article with it when talking about an unspecified amount:

for mye kaffe → too much coffee
mye kaffe → a lot of coffee
lite kaffe → little coffee

You only use an article when you talk about one specific cup or a countable unit:

en kaffe (colloquial: a coffee / a cup of coffee)
to kaffer (two coffees / two cups of coffee)

So in this sentence, for mye kaffe is correct, with no article.

Is there a difference between for mye kaffe and altfor mye kaffe?

Yes, both mean too much coffee, but altfor mye is stronger:

for mye kaffe → too much coffee (a bit too much / more than is good)
altfor mye kaffe → far too much coffee / way too much coffee

Examples:

Jeg drikker for mye kaffe om morgenen.
I drink too much coffee in the morning.
Jeg drikker altfor mye kaffe.
I drink far too much coffee. (stronger emphasis)

How would I say I drank too much coffee this morning instead?

You need the past tense of å drikke and a different time expression:

Jeg drakk for mye kaffe i morges.

Breakdown:

drakk = past tense of drikker
i morges = this morning (earlier today, already over)

So:

Jeg drikker for mye kaffe om morgenen.
→ I drink too much coffee in the morning(s). (habit)
Jeg drakk for mye kaffe i morges.
→ I drank too much coffee this morning. (one specific morning)

Where would I put ikke if I want to say I don’t drink too much coffee in the morning?

In a normal main clause with a subject, ikke usually comes after the verb and subject, and before most other elements:

Jeg drikker ikke for mye kaffe om morgenen.
= I do not drink too much coffee in the morning.

Word order:

Jeg (subject)
drikker (verb)
ikke (negation)
for mye kaffe (object phrase)
om morgenen (time phrase)

How do you pronounce mye, and why is it spelled that way?

Mye is pronounced approximately like “mü-eh” in many dialects:

IPA: roughly /ˈmʏ.e/ or /ˈmyːə/ depending on dialect.

Key points:

y is a front rounded vowel, similar to the French u in lune or the German ü in München.
The word is two syllables: m-y-e.

Spelling mye is historical; it doesn’t follow English spelling logic. You just have to memorize that mye = a lot / much / many (depending on context) and for mye = too much / too many.

Is Jeg drikker for mye kaffe om morgenen a formal or informal sentence?

The sentence itself is neutral in style. It can be used in both informal and fairly formal contexts:

Informal: talking to friends or family.
More formal: telling a doctor or writing a short personal text.

If you wanted to be slightly more casual, you might add a little nuance, for example:

Jeg drikker altfor mye kaffe om morgenen. (more emotional/complaining)

But grammatically and stylistically, the original sentence works almost anywhere.