"Finns det kaffe?"

Translation: Is there coffee?

[Sjodni]

finns det= is there
right?

[Arnauti]

True. Questions are made by changing the order between verb and subject. Det finns … = 'There is …' and Finns det …? = 'Is there …?'

[skipari]

Is there 'any' coffee? - might want to be added.

[SDPhil]

Why would you ask "Is there the coffee" and not "Is there coffee"?

[Arnauti]

Finns det in Swedish means Is there in English. The definite form of kaffe would be kaffet.

[SDPhil]

I understand now! Thanks!

[The-Tank]

never use "finns den" for -en words?

[Arnauti]

Not in questions like this one. This det is a formal subject so it does not change with the noun, it's like it in 'It's raining', it's just there as a placeholder.
So if you ask if there is any food, which is an en word, it would still be Finns det (någon) mat 'Is there (any) food'.

In other contexts, den/det may be a pronoun instead of a formal subject, and in those cases it changes with the noun. Like, Var är kaffet? Finns det här? ('Where is the coffee? Is it here?') vs Var är maten? Finns den här? ('Where is the food? Is it here?'). I think this matches the difference between is there and is it in English pretty well, so it shouldn't be difficult for you if you already know English.

[bonoetmalo]

So I'm using Rosetta Stone in conjunction with Duolingo. In RS it introduced "there is" as "Det här är X" as opposed to "Det finns X".

How do the two differ, and what connotations does each one carry?

[Arnauti]

Hm, Det här är … should be translated as This is …, and I'd still say that There is/are … means Det finns ….
Det där är …  would be That is …

[bonoetmalo]

That makes sense. Rosetta Stone doesn't actually ever provide any English translations, it just tries to convey meaning with pictures alone, so sometimes the meaning of phrases is ambiguous in Rosetta Stone haha

[J.Sol.Esp]

Out of curiosity, could this also be "Does coffee exist?" I ask because of the example about mice in another practice set. Tack så mycket!

[devalanteriel]

Yes, though just finns kaffe would be more natural and common.

[J.Sol.Esp]

Tack!

[JoseeV64]

Is "finns det ....?" similar to the German "gibt es ....?" ?

[devalanteriel]

Yes, they're very similar.

[BethanyWoodcock]

Happy streak-(anni)versary!

[JoseeV64]

Thanks! It was yesterday my Duovesary.

[francesrainbow]

How would you ask "Is that coffee?" Thank you!

[Maldonado32]

Possibly "är det kaffe?"
I'm not sure, though.

[francesrainbow]

Thank you :)

[CactusBrownies]

Shouldn't "there's coffee?" be accepted? Or does a raise in pitch not imply an interrogative tone in swedish?

[devalanteriel]

There's a minor difference between "Is there coffee?" and "There's coffee?", and it's the same difference in Swedish between Finns det kaffe? and Det finns kaffe?

[jacob738094]

Would this not also mean "does coffee exist"?

[J.Sol.Esp]

Check out my thread with devalanteriel about this same exact question. ;)

[AlanMonteros]

The pronunciation tone doesn't seem that of a question.

[matthew583808]

Det means 'it' so why isint it 'finns där kaffe?' (Is there coffee)

[devalanteriel]

English can use "there" to mean both a location ("over there") or existence ("there is"). Swedish can use där only for the former, though, so it doesn't translate literally.

[JoseeV64]

So if you want to ask if there is coffee there, then you have to say "Finns det där kaffe?" ?

[devalanteriel]

Finns det kaffe där?, yes.

[JoseeV64]

Tack! I was pretty sure it was right. I have finished my coffee. It will be time for lunch again in an hour. Time flies.