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Questions & Answers about Jag blir glad av kaffe.
Why is it blir and not är?
Bli(r) means “become/get,” so it focuses on the change caused by coffee. Jag blir glad av kaffe = “Coffee makes me happy / I get happy from coffee.” If you use är (am), you describe a state, not a cause: Jag är glad (I am happy). To say you’re happy about something (not that it causes the change), use är + glad över/för: e.g., Jag är glad över kaffet (I’m happy about the coffee).
What does av mean here?
Here av means “from/because of/by,” marking the cause. It’s common with bli + adjective to express what triggers a change: Jag blir trött av värme (I get tired from heat), Hon blir arg av orättvisa (She gets angry at injustice).
Can I say Kaffe gör mig glad instead? Is there a difference?
Yes. Kaffe gör mig glad is perfectly natural and means the same. With gör, you use an object (mig) and an adjective; with blir, the subject changes state. Nuance: gör highlights the cause; blir highlights the change in the subject.
Is the word order flexible? Can I say Av kaffe blir jag glad?
Yes. You can front the cause for emphasis: Av kaffe blir jag glad. Swedish main clauses are V2, so after fronting Av kaffe, the verb (blir) comes before the subject (jag).
Why is it glad, not glatt or glada?
Adjectives used predicatively agree with the subject. With jag/du/han/hon, use the base form: glad. Glatt is neuter singular (e.g., ett glatt barn) and glada is plural/definite (e.g., De är glada).
How do you pronounce the sentence?
Approximate IPA: Jag [jɑː(ɡ)] (the g is often silent), blir [bliːr], glad [ɡlɑːd], av [ɑːv], kaffe [ˈkafːɛ]. Note the long vowel in blir, the double consonant in kaffe (short a + long ff), and the broad a in glad.
Can I use från instead of av?
No. Från is mainly “from” in the sense of origin or movement (from A to B). For a cause or agent (“made happy by/from coffee”), Swedish uses av.
What time meaning does blir (present) have here?
Swedish present can express general truths or habitual effects. Jag blir glad av kaffe means “Coffee tends to make me happy” or “I get happy (whenever I have coffee).” Past: Jag blev glad av kaffe; future: Jag kommer att bli glad av kaffe.
How do I negate it?
Put inte after the finite verb: Jag blir inte glad av kaffe. If you front the av-phrase: Av kaffe blir jag inte glad (emphasis on coffee).
Why is there no article before kaffe?
Because kaffe is used as a mass noun here, meaning coffee in general. No article is needed in that generic sense: Jag dricker kaffe (I drink coffee). For a specific coffee, use the definite: Jag blir glad av kaffet (that particular coffee).
Is kaffe an ett- or en-word? Can I say en kaffe?
Lexically, kaffe is neuter: ett kaffe, definite kaffet. In cafés, en kaffe is very common colloquial shorthand for “a cup of coffee” (elliptic for en kopp kaffe). Both are normal in their contexts.
Can I say Jag blir glad av att dricka kaffe?
Yes. Av att dricka kaffe focuses on the activity (“from drinking coffee”) rather than the substance. Both av kaffe and av att dricka kaffe are fine; pick the one that matches what you want to emphasize.
Can I use över or för with glad?
Yes, but the meaning shifts. Glad över/för X = “happy about X” (content thanks to it), not “X causes me to become happy.” Example: Jag är glad över nyheterna (I’m happy about the news) vs. Jag blir glad av musik (Music makes me happy).
How does bli conjugate?
Infinitive bli, present blir, past blev, supine blivit. Example: Jag blev glad av kaffe igår (I got happy from coffee yesterday), Jag har blivit glad av kaffe (I have become happy from coffee).
Would pigg or lycklig work here?
Often coffee makes you pigg (alert/energetic): Jag blir pigg av kaffe / Kaffe gör mig pigg—very idiomatic. Lycklig means “truly happy/blissful,” so Jag blir lycklig av kaffe sounds exaggerated or humorous.
Is it okay to say Jag blir av kaffe glad?
Avoid splitting like that; it sounds unnatural. Use Jag blir glad av kaffe or front the whole av-phrase: Av kaffe blir jag glad.
What about utav instead of av?
Utav is a colloquial/variant form of av in many contexts and can sound a bit informal or dialectal. You could hear Jag blir glad utav kaffe, but standard writing usually prefers av.