Learn Hardcore Swedish: Titta där, kaffet är sämre än igår. - Look there, the coffee is worse than yesterday.

Yes. Titta is the imperative of the verb meaning “to look.” It’s the neutral, everyday way to tell someone to look. Se is more formal or exclamatory (e.g., Se där!) and sounds a bit old-fashioned in casual speech. Kolla is colloquial (“check it out”).

Why is där used here? Could it be här or dit?

där = there (location, no movement).
här = here (close to the speaker).
dit = to there (direction/movement) and only with motion verbs (e.g., Gå dit!).
Since you’re telling someone to look at a location, Titta där is correct.

Is the comma after Titta där required? Could I use an exclamation mark?

A comma is standard to separate the attention-getter from the main clause. An exclamation mark is fine for a stronger tone: Titta där! Kaffet är sämre än igår. Just don’t leave them run together without punctuation.

Why kaffet and not just kaffe?

Swedish marks definiteness with a suffix. kaffet = “the coffee” (this specific brew) via the neuter definite ending -et. Bare kaffe is mass/indefinite and means coffee in general.

Is kaffe countable? Can I say “a coffee”?

Yes in practice. Grammatically it’s neuter: ett kaffe (a serving/type). In cafés you’ll also hear colloquial en kaffe. For multiple servings, två kaffe is common; kaffen occurs but två kaffe is safer.

Why use är with an adjective here? Would smakar be better?

är sämre states overall quality. If you specifically mean taste, Kaffet smakar sämre än igår is very natural. Other sensory verbs also work: låter, känns, ser ut.

Does sämre need to agree with kaffet (neuter) or with plural?

No. Comparative forms are invariable: sämre stays the same regardless of gender/number. The superlative is sämst (indefinite) / sämsta (attributive).

Why not mer dålig? What’s the difference between sämre and värre?

mer dålig is unidiomatic; dålig has the irregular comparative sämre and superlative sämst. Use sämre for quality (coffee, performance, etc.). värre is the comparative of the adverb illa and tends to express severity/worseness of problems: Det är värre än jag trodde. For coffee, say sämre or smakar sämre, not värre.

Why än and not som? How do comparisons work?

Use än after a comparative of inequality: bättre/sämre/större/mindre … än. Use som for equality and negative comparisons: lika bra som, inte så bra som.
Examples: Kaffet är sämre än igår, Kaffet är lika bra som igår, Kaffet är inte så bra som igår.

Is än igår correct spelling? I’ve seen i går too.

Both igår and i går are accepted, likewise idag/i dag and imorgon/i morgon. Pick one style and be consistent. Informal contexts often prefer the one-word forms.

How do you pronounce the sentence?

Roughly: Titta där, kaffet är sämre än igår ≈ [ˈtɪtːa dɛːr | ˈkafːɛt ɛːr ˈsɛmːrɛ ɛn ɪˈɡoːr].
Tips: double consonants (tt, ff, mm) signal a short preceding vowel; ä ≈ e in “bed”; än sounds like “en” with a short e; är has a long vowel [ɛː].

Could I drop där and just say Titta, …?

Yes. Titta, alone is the common attention-getter. Titta där, adds that you’re pointing to a location. You can also say Titta, kaffet är … with no där.

Any word-order rules I should notice?

The main clause has verb-second (V2) order: Kaffet är … (subject before verb here, which is fine). If you front a time adverbial, keep the verb second: Idag är kaffet sämre än igår. The introductory Titta där, is separate and doesn’t affect V2 in the following clause.

Is än related to ännu?

They’re different. än = “than.” ännu = “still/yet” (e.g., Det är ännu kallt = “It is still cold”). Don’t mix them.

Can I omit än and say Kaffet är sämre igår?

No. Without än, igår becomes a time adverbial, which would require past tense: Kaffet var sämre igår (“The coffee was worse yesterday”). For a comparison with yesterday, keep än: Kaffet är sämre än igår.

Are there alternatives to än in this comparison?

You can use jämfört med: Kaffet är sämre jämfört med igår. mot isn’t idiomatic here; stick to än or jämfört med.