Learn Hardcore Swedish: Först dricker jag kaffe, sedan läser jag en bok. - First I drink coffee, then I read a book.

Swedish main clauses follow the verb-second (V2) rule: exactly one element comes first (here the adverb först), and the finite verb must come second. That’s why it’s Först dricker jag kaffe, not “Först jag dricker kaffe.” The same pattern appears in the second clause: Sedan läser jag en bok.

Is the comma before sedan required?

No. All of these are fine:

Först dricker jag kaffe, sedan läser jag en bok.
Först dricker jag kaffe. Sedan läser jag en bok.
Först dricker jag kaffe och sedan läser jag en bok. Swedish allows a comma between two main clauses; a period plus a new sentence is equally natural.

Why is it sedan läser jag, not “sedan jag läser”?

Here sedan is an adverb meaning “then/after that,” so it triggers V2 again: Sedan läser jag… If sedan is used as “since” (time) in a subordinate clause, you can get patterns like sedan jag kom…, but that is a different construction.

What’s the difference between först and första?

först = adverb “first (in a sequence).” Example: Jag kommer först.
första = adjective “first.” Example: den första dagen (“the first day”). In the sentence, you need the adverb först.

Can I use sen instead of sedan? What about därefter, efteråt, or senare?

sen = very common, informal form of sedan. Först dricker jag kaffe, sen läser jag en bok.
därefter = more formal/literary: Först …, därefter …
efteråt = “afterwards” (often as a separate sentence/clause): Först … . Efteråt läser jag en bok.
senare = “later” (not necessarily immediately after). Note: sedan can also mean “since (time)” in other contexts, e.g., Jag har bott här sedan 2010.

Does Swedish present tense cover “am drinking” and “drink”?

Yes. Swedish doesn’t have a separate -ing form. Jag dricker can mean “I drink” or “I am drinking,” depending on context.

Why is there no article before kaffe?

kaffe is a mass (uncountable) noun here, so no article is used: Jag dricker kaffe. If you mean “a coffee” (one serving), you can say:

ett kaffe (traditional/standard) or, in café speech, often en kaffe,
or specify the container: en kopp kaffe (“a cup of coffee”). When in doubt, the bare mass-noun kaffe is safest.

Why is it en bok and how do its forms work?

bok is an “en-word” (common gender), so the indefinite article is en: en bok. Definite singular is boken (“the book”). The plural is irregular: böcker (indefinite), böckerna (definite).

Where would negation (inte) go in sentences like these?

Place inte after the finite verb and subject:

Först dricker jag inte kaffe.
Sedan läser jag inte boken. With indefinite objects, Swedes often prefer ingen/inget/inga or inte någon/något/några:
Sedan läser jag ingen bok / inte någon bok (rather than the flat “inte en bok,” which sounds contrastive: “not one book (but maybe two)”).

Can I drop the subject pronoun jag?

No. Swedish is not a “pro-drop” language. You normally keep the subject pronoun: Först dricker jag …, sedan läser jag … (Exception: imperatives, e.g., Drick! “Drink!”).

How do I say this in the past or in the future?

Past: Först drack jag kaffe, sedan läste jag en bok. (irregular preterite drack; regular läste)
Future (intention/plan): Först ska jag dricka kaffe, sedan ska jag läsa en bok. You can also use kommer att for a more neutral future: kommer att dricka/läsa.

Are other word orders possible, and do they change the nuance?

Yes:

Först dricker jag kaffe (neutral way to mark sequence by fronting the time adverb).
Jag dricker kaffe först (focus on coffee being the first of several things).
Jag dricker först kaffe (also possible; puts “first” closer to what it modifies). For the second part, Jag läser en bok sen is common in speech; sedan at sentence end is less common than sen.

Any quick pronunciation tips for these words?

först: short ö (like German ö); rs merges to a retroflex “sh” sound, roughly “fœrsht.”
dricker: short i (as in “bit”); ck = hard k; often pronounced like “DRI-kker.”
jag: commonly “yah” in everyday speech (the g is often weak or silent).
sedan: “SEH-dahn”; colloquial sen = “sehn.”
läser: long ä (similar to the vowel in “air,” a bit more open): “LÄÄ-ser.”

Why is it dricker and not drycker?

Because dricker is the verb (present tense of att dricka, “to drink”). dryck is a noun meaning “beverage,” and its plural is drycker (“drinks/beverages”). So:

Verb: Jag dricker kaffe.
Noun: Jag gillar kalla drycker.