Question 1

Why does this sentence use annanstans (location) instead of a directional adverb if the coordinate is pointing to a place?

Accepted Answer

While this lesson teaches that direction usually requires words ending in -vart (like någonvart), the adverb någon annanstans (somewhere else) is a practical exception. It is heavily used for both location (being somewhere else) and direction (pointing or going somewhere else). You could technically say någon annanvart, but it is quite rare in modern Swedish.

Question 2

Why isn't there a preposition like på (at) or mot (towards) after pekar?

Accepted Answer

The phrase någon annanstans is an adverb, not a noun. Because it inherently carries the spatial meaning of 'in/to another place', adding a preposition is unnecessary and usually incorrect. It would be redundant, similar to saying 'points at at somewhere else'.

Question 3

Why is annanstans attached to annan instead of keeping någonstans intact?

Accepted Answer

The standard word for 'somewhere' is någonstans. However, when you want to add annan (other) to mean 'somewhere else', the suffix -stans (which historically comes from a word meaning 'place') jumps over and attaches to annan. This splits the phrase into two words: någon annanstans.

Question 4

What would the negative counterpart of this phrase be if the coordinate was broken and didn't point anywhere else?

Accepted Answer

Just as någonstans (somewhere) turns into ingenstans (nowhere), the phrase någon annanstans becomes ingen annanstans (nowhere else). You would simply say that it points ingen annanstans.

Koordinaten pekar någon annanstans.

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