Tiden var bortkastet.

Because tid is the indefinite form, while tiden is the definite form.

• tid = time
• tiden = the time

In Norwegian, definiteness is often shown by adding an ending to the noun. Here, -en marks the definite singular.

Also, tid is often treated as a feminine noun in Bokmål, so you may also see tida in less formal or more colloquial Norwegian.

It is built into tiden.

Unlike English, Norwegian usually does not need a separate word for the when the noun stands alone. Instead, the noun takes a definite ending:

• tid = time
• tiden = the time

So tiden already includes the idea of the.

Var is the past tense of å være, which means to be.

So:

• er = is / am / are
• var = was / were

This sentence is talking about something in the past, so var is the correct form.

A useful thing to remember: Norwegian var does not change for singular and plural the way English does.

Bortkastet means wasted.

Grammatically, it is a past participle used like an adjective. It comes from å bortkaste, which literally suggests something like to throw away or to waste.

In this sentence, it describes the state of tiden after var:

• Tiden var bortkastet = the time was wasted

So it behaves a lot like an adjective here, even though it comes from a verb.

This is a very common learner question.

With many participles and adjectives of this type, the singular form is bortkastet for both common-gender and neuter nouns.

For example:

• en bortkastet dag = a wasted day
• et bortkastet år = a wasted year

So even though tiden is not neuter, bortkastet is still the normal singular form here.

The form that often changes is the plural or definite adjective form before a noun:

• de bortkastede dagene = the wasted days

It works very much like a passive or resultative sentence.

Var + participle often describes a state or result:

• Tiden var bortkastet = the time was in a wasted state / turned out to have been wasted

A closely related sentence is:

• Tiden ble bortkastet

That version focuses more on the event of the time being wasted, while var bortkastet often sounds more like a description of the result.

In many contexts, both translate naturally into English as was wasted, but the nuance is slightly different.

Yes.

That is a more colloquial or more feminine-friendly version in Bokmål:

• tida instead of tiden
• bortkasta instead of bortkastet

Both mean the same thing. The version in your sentence, Tiden var bortkastet, is a very standard written Bokmål form.

So the difference is mostly style and variety, not meaning.

You usually make a yes/no question by putting the verb first:

• Var tiden bortkastet? = Was the time wasted?

This is standard Norwegian word order for yes/no questions.

So the statement:

• Tiden var bortkastet.

becomes:

• Var tiden bortkastet?

You would say:

• den bortkastede tiden

This is because Norwegian usually uses double definiteness when an adjective comes before a definite noun:

• den
  • adjective + definite noun

So:

• tiden = the time
• den bortkastede tiden = the wasted time

Notice that bortkastet changes to bortkastede when it comes before the definite noun.