Sixteenth lesson

Prepositions and Norwegian food

Hello, we meet in the sixteenth lesson. Are you ready to learn nice and correct norwegian with norwegianABC.com? In this sixteenth lesson, we will explore preposisjoner – prepositions.

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• - Hei du! Velkommen til leksjon nummer seksten!
• - God dagen!

Hello, we meet in the sixteenth lesson. Are you ready to learn nice and correct norwegian with norwegianABC.com? Today me and Ema, while flying to Hurghada, got stuck at the intermediate airport in Moscow due to bad weather. Besides, what is ‘bad weather’ in Norwegian, Ema?

• - et uvær

Yes... we got stuck, but I hope not for long. Let’s start the lesson with a listening exercise, lytteøvelse. Let’s practice to pronounce the vowel a.   lytt og gjenta – listen and repeat.

smake	takk	ananas
mat	kan	salami
lam	betaler	banan
vann	kaffe	tar
hva	flaske	Moskva

Fine. Another listening task – how many syllables do you hear? Hvor mange stavelser hører du?/Hvor mange stavelser hører du? Listen and say in Norwegian how many syllables there are in a word.

vann

én stavelse

mat

én stavelse

fisk

én stavelse

frisøren

tre stavelse

banan

to stavelse

sjokoladekake

seks stavelse

Well done. Now let’s continue with the grammar. In this sixteenth lesson, we will explore   preposisjoner – prepositions.

Prepositions indicate the location of an object or a person in respect to another object or person – next to a house, in Oslo, etc. There are many prepositions. We will review and learn the most commonly used prepositions. Preposisjoner never go alone in a sentence, they are adjacent to the noun – substantiv, verb infinitive – infinitiv or pronoun – pronomen. Some cases you will have to learn by heart, because unfortunately, there are no rules on when to use each preposition. And fortunately, some prepositions still obey some rules.

1. First, let’s talk about the prepositions of place that indicate that something/someone is somewhere or moving towards something/someone.

The preposition I is used to say that something/someone is inside, for example:

In the forest

  i skogen

In the cabinet

  i skapet

In the pocket

  i lommen

Attention. The noun following the preposition is usually in a definite form – bestemt.

The preposition PÅ indicates that something/someone is on the top or on the outside:

On the cabinet

  på skapet

On the water

  på vannet

On the table

  på bordet

Preposition   foran – in front

Against the window

  foran vinduet

In front of the computer

  foran PC–en

In front of the entrance

  foran inngangen

Preposition   under – under or during

Under the table

  under bordet

Under the chair

  under stolen

During the war

  under krigen

During the labour

  under fødselen

Preposition   over – over

Over the table

  over bordet

Over the water

  over vannet

Over the house

  over huset

Preposition   gjennom – through

Through the window

  gjennom vinduet

Through many years

  gjennom mange år

Travel through Sweden

  reise gjennom Sverige

Preposition   ved ved siden av – beside, next to

Beside, next to the house

  ved siden av huset

Beside the window

  ved vinduet

Next to the desk

  ved siden av skrivebordet

Preposition   mot – near, against, towards

Near/towards the door

  mot døren

Against bullying

  mot mobbing

Preposition   rundt – around, over

Around the Earth

  rundt jorden

Around the Sun

  rundt solen

Around the table

  rundt bordet

Let’s do a task with prepositions. I will say a sentence in English and you will translate it. After a pause, Ema will help you check it. La oss begynne.

Jan is looking through the window. - Jan ser gjennom vinduet. Attention, the noun following the preposition is in the bestemt form.

A chair is standing in the corner. I’ll prompt you, a corner is   et hjørne. - Stolen står i hjørnet.

The lamp is hanging over the table. Lamp –   ei lampe. To hang –   å henge. - Lampa henger over bordet.

The hands are in the pocket. Pocket –   ei en lomme. - Hendene er i lommen.

I am travelling around the Earth. - Jeg reiser rundt jorden.

She is standing near the window. - Hun står ved vinduet.

A cat is lying on the table. - Katten ligger på bordet.

He is walking towards the door. - Han går mot døren.

• - Jan, how about our flight, do they have any news? Maybe the weather has improved?
• - Nei, desverre. Nei, desverre. – Unfortunately not.
  Flyet er forsinket. – The flight is delayed.

Well, let’s continue with the lesson on prepositions then.

When speaking about geographical names and talking about the world parts, countries, cities, municipalities, we will use the preposition I:

I Europa

in Europe

I Norge

in Norge

I Oslo

in Oslo

I Finnmark

in Finnmark municipality

When talking about islands and some of the Norwegian municipalities, we will use the preposition PÅ:

på Kvaløy

in the Kvaløy Island

på Hawaii

in the Hawaii Island

på Sørlandet

in the Eastern Norway

på Vestlandet

in the Western Norway

When talking that someone is in some PLACE (in a city, at the doctor’s, in the garage, etc.), we will use the på – i – hos:

Jeg bor i Oslo.

I live in Oslo.

I am at work.

I am at work.

Jeg treffer Lise på toget.

I meet Lisa on the train.

  et tog

a train

Nora er på kjøkkenet.

Nora is in the kitchen.

Kjell bor på landet.

Kjell lives in a village.

Attention, if we say i landet, it will mean in the country, and på landet means in the rural area.

In terms of places, the use of I and på do not follow the rules. In some cases, we can say both I or på, for example, i jobben, på jobben; however, more often we say på. In most cases, however, you will have to learn by heart what preposition should be used. Do not worry, you cannot learn all of them at once, so do not even try. After a while and after learning the language and some practicing, the prepositions and the nouns used with them will get arranged properly in your mind.

Continuing talking about the prepositions, namely hos, we can gladly notice that a rule is applied over it: we use it in the meaning at to indicate a location, for example:

Han bor hos kusinen.

He lives at his cousin’s.

Jeg sitter hos tannlegen.

I am sitting at the dentist’s.

I dag går vi på besøk hos Elias.

Today we are going to Elias’s.

Remember that å gå på besøk means "to visit someone". It’s simple, right?

You probably have already got tired. OK, it’s time for "Fakta om Norge". We will continue talking about traditional Norwegian food, this time about festive food. Norway is the penultimate European country to adopt Christianity and therefore, it is not surprising that the festive traditions have not caught on immediately. Well, except for Christmas. Christmas is celebrated in the country with real euphoria: Christmas meals are sometimes being enjoyed even since September, and in most cases – a month before Christmas. The main Christmas meal – lutefisk – is fish well soaked in fat. We usually serve 12 meals on the table, while the Norwegians traditionally cook 7 meals. Of course, if you do not count the treats and sweets. The cooking starts a week before this most beautiful celebration of the year. This process, by the way, is nicely called ‘seven children’. The traditional Christmas drink – vodka – akevitt – akvavit is flavoured with herbs: caraway, anise, dill, fennel, coriander or grains of paradise.

Christmas bread – Julekake – is eaten warm, just pulled out of the oven, abundantly covered with butter. Mutton rolls, pork sausages, smoked lamb leg are the main dishes.

For dessert – bløtkake – a very delicious layered cake with whipped cream and jam layer, gingerbread cakes, and donuts are eaten. Mmmm, really tasty. Next time in “Fakta om Norge” we will talk about traditional and favourite Norwegian drinks. And what is the most exotic Norwegian dish, you are asking? In my opinion, it is a boiled sheep’s head served with the eyes – yes, the eyes – served on a big plate!

Let’s continue our lesson about preposisjoner – prepositions.

2. The other group is the prepositions of place indicating that something is moving from one place to/towards another.

In this case, we will use til, på, fra, i. As I have said before, there is no rule on when and what preposition should be used so let’s memorize the most commonly used phrases:

Vi liker å gå på kino og på teater. – We love/like going to the cinema and to the theatre.

Tobias går i banken. – Tobias is going to the bank.

Jeg går på jobben. – I am going to work.

Jeg skal til Bergen. – I will go to Bergen.

Jeg skal på biblioteket. – I will go to the library.

Anita kommer fra Oslo. – Anita is arriving from Oslo.

Vi skal gå i butikken. Eller: Vi skal gå på butikken. – We will go to the store.

As you can see, this noun can be used with two prepositions.

Vi skal reise på fjellet. – We’ll go/travel to the mountains.

  et fjell

a mountain

  på fjellet

to the mountains

Jeg går til sengs. – I am going to bed.

  ei en seng

bed

Å gå til sengs

to go to sleep, to go to bed

Practice. Ema will say a sentence with the omitted preposition I or PÅ and you will have to add it. Let’s repeat the use of these prepositions and start the exercise.

Hvor bor du? – Where do you live?

Jeg bor _____ Nord‐Norge. – I live in northern Norway.

Jeg bor i Nord‐Norge.

Jeg bor _____ Østlandet. – I live in eastern Norway.

Jeg bor på Østlandet.

Jeg bor _____ Hawaii. – I live in Hawaii.

Jeg bor på Hawaii.

Jeg bor _____ Asia. – I live in Asia.

Jeg bor i Asia.

Jeg bor _____ landet. – I live in a village.

Jeg bor på landet.

Well done, do not give up and repeat, repeat until you learn.

Oh, and our flight has been delayed again... Vi skal sove på benken. We will sleep on the bench.

I’m really disappointed and angry... Well no, I am not going to sleep on a bench, we need to find a hotel, maybe the weather will be better tomorrow? Hm, seeing a snowstorm through the window, I am starting to doubt it. Jan, let’s go and find a hotel. Jan, la oss gå og finne et hotell.

• - Hva? Nei, slett ikke. – What? Absolutely not.
• - Jan, vil du sove på benken? Flyet er forsinket! Jan, do you want to sleep on the bench? The flight is delayed!
  Klokka er kvart på elleve. – It is 22.45 now.
• - Javel. Hva er galt med å sove på benken? – So what? What’s wrong with sleeping on the bench?
• - Jan, dette mener du ikke! – Jan, you do not really mean that! Du er en egoist! – You are selfish!
• - Ta det med ro, da! Ta det med ro, da! – Come on, calm down! Jeg er ikke enig med deg. Jeg er ikke enig med deg. – I disagree with you.
• - Nei, du tar helt feil. Jeg skal ikke sove på benken i Moskva. – No, you’re very wrong. I’m not going to sleep on a bench in Moscow. Ærlig talt! Frankly!
• - Jeg er uening med deg, Ema. – I disagree with you, Ema.
  Vi må vente litt. Hør nå, vinden blåser nesten ikke. – We have to wait a bit. Listen, the wind has almost calmed down.
• - Men det snør heftig! – But it is snowing heavily! Nei, Jan, nå må du gi deg! – No, Jan, now you have to give up.
• - Ema, skal vi snakke litt mer om preposisjoner?

Dear students, in our dialogue you’ve heard a lot of expressions used by the Norwegians when they argue; let’s repeat them and learn some new:

  hør nå her!

Now listen to me!

  hold kjefta!

Shut up!

  ærlig talt!

Frankly saying! Or – Honestly!

  nå slutter du!

Stop it right now!

  du tenker bare på deg selv!

You only think of yourself!

  ta det litt med ro, da!

Calm down!

If you do not agree with your interlocutor, you can say:

  nei, slett ikke.

No way.

  jeg er uening med deg.

I disagree with you.

  jeg er ikke enig med deg.

I disagree with you.

  du tar helt feil.

You are very wrong.

  dette mener du ikke.

You surely do not mean that/or/you really do not think so.

We have had a lot of negative expressions so let’s learn some positive expressions with prepositions which you will have to learn by heart. They are called faste uttrykk.

Jeg er glad i deg.

I love you.

Jeg er forelsket i deg.

I am in love with you.

Jeg er interessert i teater.

I am interested in theatre.

Jeg er glad for å ha en venn.

I am happy to have a friend.

  å være interessert i

to be interested in something

  å være glad for

to be happy about something

• - Ema, Ema, hør nå! De sier at flyet til Hurgada går klokka étt! Hurra! Hurra! – Ema, Ema, listen to me! They say the plane flies to Hurghada at one o’clock! Hooray! Hurray!
• - How nice! Så bra! Jeg er glad for at vi skal til Hurgada! I am happy we will be flying to Hurghada! I am shouting hurray together with Jan and saying to you: see you, vi snakkes!
• - Ha det, ha det!