Questions & Answers about Vi köper kaffe åt våra gäster.
Why is there no article before the noun in kaffe?
Swedish treats kaffe as a mass noun here, so it appears without an article in the indefinite singular. You use:
- kaffe for coffee in general or an unspecified amount.
- kaffet for a specific, known coffee (the coffee).
- In cafés, you may hear en kaffe to mean “a coffee (a cup).” That’s an ellipsis for en kopp kaffe and is fine in casual speech.
What’s the difference between åt, till, and för when they translate to “for/to”?
- åt: beneficiary/on someone’s behalf. With köpa, it’s very common: köpa något åt någon (buy something for someone).
- till: direction/recipient. Also common with köpa when you plan to give/serve the item: köpa kaffe till gästerna.
- för: reason, price, or “for the sake of,” not the typical beneficiary with köpa.
- Price: Vi köper kaffe för 50 kronor.
- Sake/reason: Vi köper kaffe för våra gästers skull.
In many contexts åt and till overlap with köpa; för usually does not.
Could I say Vi köper våra gäster kaffe (double object) like in English?