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Questions & Answers about Hun blåser på suppen.
What is the role of the preposition på in blåser på suppen?
The verb blåse (“to blow”) needs på when you “blow on” something. Without på, blåser suppen would be ungrammatical. Together blåse på exactly means “to blow on.”
Could we say Hun blåser suppen instead of Hun blåser på suppen?
No. In Norwegian å blåse requires på to indicate the object you’re blowing on. Omitting på breaks the verb–preposition combination, so you must say Hun blåser på suppen.
What is the difference between å blåse på and å puste på?
- Å blåse på is the most common, neutral way to say “to blow on” (e.g. to cool something).
- Å puste på literally means “to breathe on” and can be used colloquially for very gentle blowing (often when eating).
In everyday speech when you want to cool soup or tea, Norwegians normally use blåse på.
Why is suppen in the definite form rather than just suppe?
Suppen means “the soup,” referring to a specific soup (probably the one on the table). If you said en suppe, you’d mean “a soup” in general. In context we usually talk about “the soup” we’re about to eat.
How do you conjugate å blåse in present, past and supine?
- Present: blåser (Hun blåser på suppen.)
- Past: blåste (Hun blåste på suppen.)
- Supine (for perfect tense): blåst (Hun har blåst på suppen.)
How can you emphasize that she is in the middle of blowing on the soup?
Norwegian has no separate continuous tense. The simple present (blåser) already covers “blows” and “is blowing.” To stress the ongoing action, you can add holde på å:
Hun holder på å blåse på suppen.
Literally: “She is in the process of blowing on the soup.”
How do you pronounce the letter å in blåser?
The å sounds like a short, closed “o” (similar to the “o” in English born). So blåser is roughly pronounced [BLAW-ser], with a clear “aw” sound in the first syllable.