Learn Hardcore Swedish: Hon lägger lite salt på maten, men kaffet ska inte vara sött. - She puts a little salt on the food, but the coffee should not be sweet.

lägga: place something so it lies/ends up on a surface. Natural with loose substances: lägga (på) salt.
sätta: set something so it sits (often with a base, e.g., a lid): sätta på locket.
ställa: stand something upright (bottles, vases): ställa glaset på bordet.

With salt, the idiomatic choices are:

Hon lägger lite salt på maten.
Hon strör lite salt på maten. (sprinkles)
Hon saltar maten. (uses the verb “to salt”)
In recipes: Hon tillsätter lite salt.

What does lite mean here? How is it different from litet or några?

lite = a little, a small amount of an uncountable/mass noun: lite salt, lite vatten.
litet = neuter form of the adjective “small”: ett litet hus (“a small house”).
några = a few/some of countable plural items: några bilar (“a few cars”).

You can also hear emphatic variants like lite grann / lite grand (“just a little bit”).

Why is there no article before salt? Could I say ett salt?

For substances, Swedish normally uses the bare noun with quantity words: lite salt, mycket salt. You’d only use the article for a specific item or type:

saltet = the salt (e.g., the salt on the table).
ett salt = a salt (in a chemical sense, “a type of salt”), not used for table salt in this context.

Why is it på maten with the definite form maten? When would I use på mat?

Here we mean the specific food she’s eating, so Swedish uses the definite: på maten (“on the food [on her plate]”). På mat is rare and would be used only in very general statements like labelling: “Salt on food dulls flavors” → Salt på mat (very generic).

Why på maten and not i maten? And for coffee, should it be i kaffet?

på = on top of a surface, typical for solids: salt på maten, ost på smörgåsen.
i = in/into a mixture or container, typical for liquids: socker i kaffet, salt i soppan.

So: salt goes på the food (surface), but sugar often goes i the coffee (liquid).

What does men do here? Could I use utan instead?

men = “but” for a general contrast. utan = “but rather/instead,” and requires a negation in the first clause. Your sentence has no negation in the first clause, so men is correct.

With utan: Hon lägger inte socker i kaffet, utan dricker det svart.

Why is the word order kaffet ska inte vara sött and not kaffet inte ska vara sött?

Main-clause V2 rule: the finite verb goes in second position.

Subject first: Kaffet (1)
Finite verb: ska (2)
Negation: inte after the finite verb
Infinitive at the end: vara

In a subordinate clause, the order changes: att kaffet inte ska vara sött (negation before the finite verb).

Why does sött end with -tt instead of just söt?

Predicative adjectives agree with the subject’s gender/number:

Common gender (en): söt → Kakan är söt.
Neuter (ett): add -t: sött → Kaffet är sött.
Plural: söta → Äpplena är söta.

Since kaffe is a neuter noun, you get sött. The double t arises because the base already ends in t: söt + -t → sött.

Is kaffet definite because we mean a specific cup, or can it also be generic?

Both are possible:

Specific: Kaffet (that we’re serving) ska inte vara sött.
Generic definite (category-level statement): Kaffet ska inte vara sött = “Coffee shouldn’t be sweet (as a rule).” Swedish often uses the definite singular for generic statements.

What nuance does ska have here—“will,” “shall,” or “should”?

It depends on context:

Expectation/norm (“is supposed to” / “should”): a rule or preference.
Future plan/arrangement: “will (be)” by plan.

Here it most naturally reads as a norm: the coffee is not supposed to be sweet.

Could I say Kaffet är inte sött instead of ska inte vara sött?

Yes, but it changes the meaning:

är inte = a current fact: “The coffee isn’t sweet.”
ska inte vara = an expectation/requirement: “The coffee should not be sweet.”

You can also say ska inte bli to mean “shouldn’t become (turn) sweet.”

Are there other natural ways to say “add a little salt”?

Yes:

Hon saltar maten (lite).
Hon strör lite salt på maten.
Hon lägger på lite salt.
Hon tillsätter lite salt. (recipe style)
For liquids/pots: Hon häller i lite salt (i vattnet).

How do I pronounce the tricky words?

lägger: “LEGG-er” (short ä like “e” in “bed,” hard g, and you hear the double g)
kaffet: “KAFF-et” (short a, clear double f)
sött: roughly “seuht” (ö like French “eu,” short vowel, crisp tt)
maten: “MAH-ten” (long a as in “father”)
ska: “ska” with plain sk (not the Swedish “sj” sound here)

Why is there a comma before men?

Swedish typically uses a comma between two independent main clauses joined by a coordinating conjunction like men. Both parts could stand alone, so the comma is standard (though many writers omit it in short sentences).

What are the genders of mat, kaffe, and salt, and why does it matter?

mat: common gender (en) → maten
kaffe: neuter (ett) → kaffet
salt: neuter (ett) → saltet

Adjectives agree with gender/number in predicative use:

Maten är god. (common)
Kaffet är gott. (neuter)
If plural: Äpplena är goda.

Could I say kaffet ska vara osött or osötat? What’s the difference?

osött = not sweet in taste (adjective).
osötat = unsweetened (no sweetener added; past participle of söta).

Both are possible; osötat kaffe is common on packaging/menus. Everyday speech often uses svart kaffe (“black coffee”) for coffee without milk and usually without sugar.

Where does inte go if I change the word order?

Fronted adverbial: Idag ska kaffet inte vara sött. (finite verb still second; inte after it)
Subordinate clause: Jag tycker att kaffet inte ska vara sött. (inte comes before the finite verb in subclauses)
Yes/no question: Ska kaffet inte vara sött?

Is hon only “she,” and is there a gender‑neutral option?

hon = she
han = he
hen = gender‑neutral singular pronoun, widely used in modern Swedish (formal and informal): Hen lägger lite salt på maten.