Learn Hardcore German: Bislang funktioniert der Plan.

bislang – slightly more neutral or written-sounding, often used in news, reports, factual statements.
- Bislang funktioniert der Plan. = So far, the plan is working.
bisher – very common, also neutral; maybe a bit more frequent in speech than bislang.
bis jetzt – sounds a bit more conversational and time-focused, like up until now (this moment).

In this sentence, changing bislang to bisher or bis jetzt would not change the basic meaning.

Why does the sentence start with Bislang and not with Der Plan?

German is a verb-second (V2) language in main clauses. That means:

Whatever comes first (subject, time phrase, place, etc.) takes position 1.
The finite verb (here: funktioniert) must be in position 2.
The rest of the elements follow after that.

So in:

Bislang (1) funktioniert (2) der Plan (3).

The speaker is putting emphasis on the time frame – up to now – by putting Bislang first.

We can also say:

Der Plan funktioniert bislang.

Now the focus is more on der Plan. Both versions are grammatically correct; the word order mainly affects emphasis and flow, not meaning.

Could I also say Der Plan funktioniert bislang? Is there any difference in meaning?

Yes, Der Plan funktioniert bislang is completely correct.

Difference in nuance:

Bislang funktioniert der Plan.
Slight emphasis on bislang → Up to now, the plan is working (contrast with what might happen later or what was expected).
Der Plan funktioniert bislang.
Slight emphasis on der Plan → The plan is working so far (more neutral, plan-focused).

In everyday conversation, they will usually be understood as meaning the same thing. The difference is subtle and mostly about rhythm and what you want to highlight.

Why is it funktioniert der Plan and not der Plan funktioniert, like in English?

English has fixed Subject–Verb–Object word order in statements:

The plan (subject) works (verb).

German does not always start with the subject. It follows the verb-second rule:

First position: one “big chunk” (subject, time phrase, place phrase, etc.)
Second position: the finite verb
Rest of the sentence

So:

Bislang (time phrase) is in position 1.
funktioniert (verb) must then come in position 2.
der Plan (subject) must come after the verb.

If you put the subject first:

Der Plan (1) funktioniert (2) bislang (3).

Both orders are correct German, but the verb must always be in second position.

Why is it funktioniert and not something like arbeitet? Don’t both mean work?

English work covers several meanings that German splits into different verbs.

arbeiten = to work (a person works at a job or on something)
- Ich arbeite viel. – I work a lot.
funktionieren = to work / to function / to operate correctly (machines, systems, solutions, plans)
- Mein Handy funktioniert nicht. – My phone doesn’t work.
- Der Plan funktioniert. – The plan works.

So Der Plan arbeitet would be wrong. Plans, machines, systems, methods, devices usually funktionieren, they do not arbeiten.

There is also colloquial klappen:

Der Plan klappt. – The plan works / goes well.

But funktionieren is the standard neutral verb for this context.

What tense is funktioniert here, and why is it translated as has been working sometimes?

funktioniert is present tense (Präsens).

German uses the present tense more broadly than English. In contexts like this, German Präsens can correspond to:

is working
Bislang funktioniert der Plan. – So far, the plan is working.
has been working
The “up to now” idea comes from bislang, not from the verb form itself.

So the basic form is:

funktioniert = (it) works / is working

If you want to stress duration even more, English usually chooses present perfect continuous (has been working), but German just keeps the present and adds a time phrase like bislang, bisher, seit gestern, etc.

Why is it der Plan and not another article? What case is Plan in?

Plan is a masculine noun in German:

der Plan (nominative singular)
den Plan (accusative singular)
dem Plan (dative singular)
des Plans (genitive singular)

In Bislang funktioniert der Plan, der Plan is the subject of the sentence, so it is in the nominative case.

That is why the article is der, not den or dem.

If you changed the sentence so that Plan is no longer the subject, the article would change, for example:

Wir folgen dem Plan. – We follow the plan. (dative)
Wir ändern den Plan. – We change the plan. (accusative)

Can I leave out the article and say just Bislang funktioniert Plan?

No, not in this context. You need the article:

Bislang funktioniert der Plan. ✅

German generally requires an article with singular countable nouns, unless there is a special reason not to (e.g. certain fixed expressions, headlines, or after some prepositions in very idiomatic phrases).

Plan is a normal countable noun here, so you must say der Plan.

Leaving out the article would sound ungrammatical or extremely telegraphic, like a headline:

Bislang funktioniert Plan – sounds like a newspaper headline, not normal sentence grammar.

Is bislang formal, informal, or neutral?

Bislang is neutral. You can use it:

in everyday conversation,
in emails,
in news reports,
in academic or business contexts.

It might feel slightly more written or formal than bis jetzt, but it’s nowhere near stiff or old-fashioned.

In casual speech, many people say:

Bis jetzt funktioniert der Plan.
Bisher funktioniert der Plan.

But Bislang funktioniert der Plan is perfectly natural in both spoken and written German.

How do you pronounce bislang and funktioniert?

Approximate pronunciation (standard German):

bislang → [BISS-lang]
- bis like English bis in bisque (short i, voiceless s)
- lang like English lung, but with a clear a as in father
funktioniert → [foonk-tsio-NEERT]
- funkt- → funk: u like oo in book, followed by nk
  - ts (k
    - z sound)
- -ion- → tsio: io like yo in yoga, but starting with a ts sound
- -iert → eert: like eart in beard but shorter, final t clearly pronounced

Stress: funk-tsio-NIERT – the stress is on the last syllable -niert.