I förrgår åt vi samma kaka med kaffe, men i dag vill jag hellre ha ett päron.

I förrgår means the day before yesterday.

Swedish has a set of common time expressions like:

• i går = yesterday
• i dag = today
• i morgon = tomorrow
• i förrgår = the day before yesterday
• i övermorgon = the day after tomorrow

The i is just part of these fixed time expressions. It does not translate word-for-word very neatly into English here.

Because åt is the past tense of äta (to eat).

• äta = to eat
• äter = eat / is eating
• åt = ate
• ätit = eaten

So:

• vi äter = we eat / we are eating
• vi åt = we ate

Since the sentence talks about the day before yesterday, Swedish uses the past tense: I förrgår åt vi...

This is because Swedish follows the V2 rule in main clauses: the finite verb usually comes in the second position.

If you begin the sentence with a time expression like I förrgår, that takes the first position, so the verb must come next:

• I förrgår åt vi samma kaka...

Compare:

• Vi åt samma kaka i förrgår.
• I förrgår åt vi samma kaka.

Both are correct, but when the time phrase comes first, the verb moves before the subject.

Samma means same.

In Swedish, samma usually stays the same regardless of gender or number:

• samma kaka = the same cake
• samma hus = the same house
• samma kakor = the same cakes

So unlike many adjectives in Swedish, samma does not normally change to match the noun.

After samma, Swedish often uses the noun in an indefinite-looking form, even though the meaning in English is often definite:

• samma kaka = the same cake
• samma bok = the same book

This is normal Swedish usage. English says the same cake, but Swedish usually says samma kaka, not den samma kakan in ordinary speech.

In Swedish, substances and food/drink items are often used without an article when speaking generally or as part of a meal/combo.

So:

• med kaffe = with coffee
• dricka kaffe = drink coffee
• äta fisk = eat fish

If you want to refer to a coffee as a serving, that is also possible in some contexts:

• en kaffe = a coffee

But in this sentence, med kaffe just means with coffee, so no article is needed.

Both forms exist, but i dag is often preferred in more careful or traditional writing.

• i dag
• idag

Both mean today.

For a learner, it is useful to recognize both. The same kind of variation exists with some other time expressions too, but i dag is a very standard and safe choice.

Hellre means rather or preferably.

In this sentence:

• jag vill hellre ha ett päron = I would rather have a pear

It expresses preference between options.

A useful comparison:

• Jag vill ha kaffe. = I want coffee.
• Jag vill hellre ha te. = I would rather have tea.

Related form:

• hellst = preferably / most gladly

Ha literally means have, but in Swedish it is often used where English would say have or eat/drink/take, depending on context.

So:

• Jag vill ha ett päron. = I want a pear. / I’d like a pear.
• Jag vill hellre ha ett päron. = I’d rather have a pear.

Using ha sounds natural because the speaker is choosing what they want. You could also say:

• Jag vill hellre äta ett päron. = I would rather eat a pear.

That puts more focus on the act of eating. Ha is broader and very natural here.

Because päron is an ett-word in Swedish.

Swedish nouns have two grammatical genders:

• en-words
• ett-words

So:

• ett päron = a pear
• päronet = the pear

You simply have to learn the gender with each noun. For example:

• en kaka = a cake
• ett päron = a pear

Again, this is the Swedish V2 rule.

After men, a new main clause begins. If that new clause starts with i dag, then the verb must still come second:

• men i dag vill jag hellre ha ett päron

Structure:

• first position: i dag
• second position: vill
• then subject: jag

Compare:

• Jag vill hellre ha ett päron i dag.
• I dag vill jag hellre ha ett päron.

Both are correct.

Yes. Med kaffe here naturally means with coffee, as in together with coffee.

So the idea is something like:

• we ate the same cake and had coffee with it

It does not mean the cake had coffee inside it. For that, Swedish would need a different wording, such as something meaning coffee-flavored cake or cake with coffee in it.

The sentence has two main clauses joined by men (but):

1. I förrgår åt vi samma kaka med kaffe
2. men i dag vill jag hellre ha ett päron

A rough structure breakdown:

• I förrgår = time expression
• åt = past tense verb
• vi = subject
• samma kaka = object
• med kaffe = additional phrase

Then:

• men = but
• i dag = time expression
• vill = finite verb
• jag = subject
• hellre = adverb of preference
• ha = infinitive
• ett päron = object

Yes, absolutely.

That version is also correct:

• Vi åt samma kaka med kaffe i förrgår.

The difference is mostly one of emphasis:

• I förrgår åt vi... emphasizes when
• Vi åt... i förrgår is more neutral

Swedish often moves time expressions to the front when the speaker wants to highlight them.

Kaka most often means cake, but in some contexts it can also be used in ways that overlap with cookie/biscuit ideas, especially in compounds or certain varieties of usage.

However, in a sentence like this, most learners should understand kaka as cake unless context suggests otherwise.

Some related words:

• kaka = cake
• småkaka = cookie / small biscuit
• tårta = layer cake / cream cake / celebration cake

A useful step-by-step version is:

• I förrgår = the day before yesterday
• åt vi = ate we
• samma kaka = the same cake
• med kaffe = with coffee
• men i dag = but today
• vill jag hellre ha = want I rather have
• ett päron = a pear

Then make it natural English:

The day before yesterday we ate the same cake with coffee, but today I’d rather have a pear.

This helps show where Swedish matches English and where the word order differs.