Learn Swedish: Karin fikade ofta på kaféet. - Karin often had coffee at the café.

Fikade is the past tense (simple past or preteritum) of the verb fika (to have coffee/a treat). Fika is a regular Group 1 verb. These verbs always form their past tense by adding -de to the infinitive form, resulting in fikade.

Why is ofta placed after the verb instead of before it like in English?

Swedish strictly follows the V2 (verb-second) rule in main clauses. The subject Karin is in the first position, so the verb fikade must come exactly second. Adverbs like ofta (often) therefore come right after the verb in this basic sentence structure.

Why is it kaféet with a double 'e' instead of just kafét?

The word for a café is an ett-word: ett kafé. To make ett-words definite (meaning "the café"), we normally add -et to the end. Because kafé ends in a stressed vowel, it keeps that letter and adds the full -et suffix, resulting in kaféet.

Does fikade only mean "had coffee"?

While fikade is often translated as "had coffee," the Swedish concept of fika is much broader. It means to take a relaxing break, usually with a hot drink like coffee or tea, and very often something sweet like a pastry or sandwich. Karin might just as easily have been drinking tea!