5.3 Idiomatic expressions
It is difficult to give specific rules for the use of prepositions. Much of the time prepositions are part of idiomatic expressions, and must simply be memorized as part of the vocabulary. They are quite often different from the English equivalent.
For example: |
|
|---|---|
| å hilse på noen | to say hello to someone |
| å bli presentert for noen | to be introduced to noen |
| å få tak i noe | to get hold of something |
| å tenke på noe | to think about something |
| å være gift med | to be married to |
| å konsentrere seg om | to concentrate on |
Many times you can find the correct preposition by looking up the main vocabulary word in a dictionary or other reference book. For example look up the verb (spille mot) or the adjective (flink til). A couple of useful on-line dictionaries are Bokmålsordboka, which is only in Norwegian, or Lexin, which provides English definitions. (NB! This is a link to the Bokmål → Persian dictionary, because there is no Bokmål → English one available. There you will also find English definitions.)