'På' is a Norwegian preposition which is considered very confusing by many who do not have Norwegian as their first language. In its most basic form, 'På' is meant to indicate a coinciding relationship of superiority of the located object to the reference object. However, its usage is very varied, and can mean many things which does not have any obvious connection to the semantic meaning of the basic form.
Examples:
'På fest', 'på byen', 'på bussen', 'på reisefot', 'på gang', 'på flaska', 'på tur', 'på shopping' etc
There are also many situations that can be described by both 'på' and other prepositions, but have small differences in semantic nuances.
Examples:
Hun er i byen
“She is in the town”
Hun er på byen
“She is out on the town”
While the first phrase simply locates the person in question as being within the borders of the town, the second phrase implies that she is on a nightclub or some other establishment serving drinks and the like, going out with friends and drinking alcoholic beverages.
Hun går i fjellet
“She is walking in the moutain”
| fjellet |
| fjell | et |
| mountain | DEFSGNEUT |
| N |
Hun går på fjellet
“She is walking on the mountain”
| fjellet |
| fjell | et |
| mountain | DEFSGNEUT |
| N |
While the first phrase simply locates the person in question in some mountainous area, the second one implies that she is walking on a specific mountain.
Han er på bussen
“He is on the bus”
| bussen |
| buss | en |
| bus | DEFMASCSG |
| N |
Han er i bussen
“He is inside the bus”
| bussen |
| buss | en |
| bus | DEFMASCSG |
| N |
These two phrases, while semantically very alike, have certain differences, as the first phrase seems to imply that the person in question is not simply inside the bus, but is also riding it, heading towards a location, while the second one seems to imply that the bus is standing still, and the person min question is simply located inside it.
Sometimes the difference in use of prepositions can cause the phrase to have a completely different meaning
Examples:
I flaska
“In the bottle”
| flaska |
| flask | a |
| bottle | DEFSGFEM |
| N |
vs.
På flaska
“Drinking heavily”
| flaska |
| flask | a |
| bottle | DEFSGFEM |
| N |
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