Questions & Answers about Vi går bortover gata og snakker rolig.
What exactly does the word bortover mean here?
It’s a directional adverb meaning “along/across/over in a horizontal direction, away from the starting point.” It suggests movement along the length of something without implying up or down. Think “along” in English, but built into one adverb.
- Similar family: nedover (downwards/along downhill), oppover (upwards/along uphill), innover (inwards), utover (outwards).
Why is it gata and not gate?
Gata is the definite form (“the street”). After directional adverbs like bortover/opp/ned, Norwegian usually uses the definite form for paths, streets, roads, stairs, etc., especially when you have a specific stretch in mind.
- Common pattern: opp trappa (up the stairs), ned veien (down the road), rundt hjørnet (around the corner).
- Using the indefinite here (bortover gate) would sound odd in standard Norwegian.
Is gaten also correct instead of gata?
Yes, in Bokmål both are correct:
- gata = feminine definite form (very common in everyday speech)
- gaten = masculine definite form (somewhat more formal/older style) Indefinite is gate. You’ll see both “en gate” and “ei gate” in Bokmål; in Nynorsk it’s feminine: “ei gate – gata.”