Jag vill bara dricka kaffe.

I just want to drink coffee.

Breakdown of Jag vill bara dricka kaffe.

• jag: I
• dricka: to drink
• kaffet: the coffee
• vilja: to want
• bara: just

Questions & Answers about Jag vill bara dricka kaffe.

Does Swedish vill mean “want” or “will”?

It means “want,” expressing desire/volition, not future time. For future, use ska, kommer (att), or the present with a time expression.

• Jag vill dricka kaffe. = I want to drink coffee.
• Jag ska dricka kaffe imorgon. / Jag kommer att dricka kaffe imorgon. = I will drink coffee tomorrow.
• Jag dricker kaffe imorgon. = I’m drinking coffee tomorrow. (scheduled/near future)

Why is there no att before dricka?

After modal(-like) verbs such as vill, kan, ska, måste, bör, brukar, Swedish omits att before the infinitive:

• Jag vill dricka kaffe. But when att means “that,” it appears before a full clause:
• Jag vill att du dricker kaffe. = I want you to drink coffee.

Why is it dricka and not dricker?

Because vill (want) is followed by the infinitive (dricka). Dricker is a finite present-tense verb used when it’s the main verb:

• Jag dricker kaffe. = I drink coffee / I’m drinking coffee.
• Jag vill dricka kaffe. = I want to drink coffee.

Where should bara go in the sentence?

Neutral placement is after the finite verb (vill) and before the infinitive:

• Jag vill bara dricka kaffe. Placing bara before the finite verb (Jag bara vill…) is not idiomatic in standard word order. Moving bara elsewhere changes the focus/scope (see next question).

What’s the difference between Jag vill bara dricka kaffe and Jag vill dricka bara kaffe?

It’s about scope (what “only” limits):

• Jag vill bara DRICKA kaffe. = I only want to drink coffee (not do anything else).
• Jag vill dricka bara KAFFE. = I want to drink only coffee (not tea, water, etc.). Prosody helps: stress the word that is limited by bara (DRICKA vs. KAFFE).

How do I place inte with bara?

• Jag vill inte bara dricka kaffe. = I don’t only want to drink coffee. (I want to do more than just drink coffee.)
• Jag vill bara inte dricka kaffe. = I just don’t want to drink coffee. (It’s simply the case that I don’t want to.)

How do I say “I just want coffee” (not necessarily to drink it right now)?

Use ha (“have/get”) for ordering or stating what you want:

• Jag vill bara ha kaffe.
• Jag tar bara kaffe. (I’ll just have coffee.)
• Bara kaffe, tack! Politer/softer:
• Jag skulle bara vilja ha kaffe.

Why is there no article with kaffe? Can I say en kaffe?

Kaffe is usually a mass noun, so no article: Jag dricker kaffe. For a portion (a cup), cafés commonly use countable forms:

• en kaffe / ett kaffe (both heard), and even två kaffe (“two coffees”). Definite:
• Kaffet är varmt. = The coffee is hot. A plural kaffen exists but is uncommon; you’ll most often hear två kaffe in café speech.

Is Jag vill… polite enough?

It’s direct and fine in many contexts, but to soften:

• Jag skulle vilja (bara) dricka kaffe. = I would like to (just) drink coffee.
• Jag vill gärna dricka kaffe. = I’d gladly like to drink coffee. (sounds friendly/willing)

How do I put this in the past or future?

• Past: Jag ville bara dricka kaffe. = I just wanted to drink coffee.
• Future/intention: Jag ska bara dricka kaffe. / Jag kommer bara att dricka kaffe. Note the placement of bara after the finite verb (ska/kommer): Jag kommer bara att dricka kaffe.

How do I ask a yes/no question with this?

Invert the subject and the finite verb; bara stays after the finite verb:

• Vill du bara dricka kaffe? = Do you only want to drink coffee? Wh-questions work the same:
• Varför vill du bara dricka kaffe? = Why do you only want to drink coffee?

Can I start the sentence with bara?

Yes, but it changes the meaning by focusing what’s limited:

• Bara jag vill dricka kaffe. = Only I want to drink coffee.
• Bara kaffe vill jag dricka. = Only coffee do I want to drink. Remember Swedish verb-second (V2) word order: after a fronted element like Bara kaffe, the finite verb (vill) comes next.

Does bara also mean “just now” or “barely”?

No. Use:

• “just/just now”: precis, nyss, or just nu (right now).
  • Jag kom precis/nyss. = I just arrived.
• “barely/hardly”: knappt.
  • Jag hinner knappt dricka kaffe. = I can barely manage to drink coffee. Bara means “only/just” in the limiting sense.

How do you pronounce the words here?

Approximate tips:

• Jag: often “yah” (the g is often silent in many accents).
• vill: “vil” with a short i (like in “bit”) and a long l.
• bara: “BAH-ra,” long first a.
• dricka: “DRIK-ka,” short i, long kk.
• kaffe: “KAF-feh,” short a, long ff. Rule of thumb: a double consonant (ll, kk, ff) signals a short preceding vowel.

What are the key forms of vilja and dricka?

• vilja (to want): infinitive vilja, present vill, past ville, supine velat.
  • Jag har velat dricka kaffe. = I have wanted to drink coffee.
• dricka (to drink): infinitive dricka, present dricker, past drack, supine druckit.
  • Jag har druckit kaffe. = I have drunk coffee.