Vaktskiftet begynner nå.

Because Norwegian usually writes compound nouns as a single word.

• vakt = guard, watch, or shift/duty
• skifte = change or shift

Together, vaktskifte means something like shift change or change of guard. English often uses two words where Norwegian uses one compound.

In Norwegian, the is often added to the end of the noun instead of being a separate word.

So:

• et vaktskifte = a shift change
• vaktskiftet = the shift change

The ending -et is the definite ending here.

Because vaktskifte is a neuter noun, and the definite singular ending for many neuter nouns is -et.

• et vaktskifte = a shift change
• vaktskiftet = the shift change

A useful rule with compounds is that the whole compound usually takes its gender from the last part. Since skifte is neuter, vaktskifte is neuter too.

Begynner is the present tense of begynne, meaning to begin.

• å begynne = to begin
• begynner = begins / is beginning

Norwegian verbs do not change for person:

• jeg begynner = I begin
• du begynner = you begin
• vaktskiftet begynner = the shift change begins

So the same present-tense form is used with all subjects.

That is a very normal word order in Norwegian.

• Vaktskiftet begynner nå. = The shift change begins now.

The adverb nå often comes after the verb in a simple main clause like this.

But Norwegian also allows:

• Nå begynner vaktskiftet.

That version puts more emphasis on now. In both cases, the sentence is natural. Norwegian main clauses follow the verb-second rule, so if nå comes first, the verb begynner must come right after it.

Yes. Norwegian present tense often covers what English expresses with either:

• begins
• is beginning
• is starting

So Vaktskiftet begynner nå can sound like:

• The shift change begins now
• The shift change is beginning now
• The shift change is starting now

The exact English wording depends on context and style.

A rough learner-friendly guide would be:

• vaktskiftet ≈ vahkt-shif-teh
• begynner ≈ beh-YUN-ner
• nå ≈ noh

A few useful pronunciation notes:

• In skiftet, sk before i is pronounced like sh
• In begynner, the g is not pronounced like an English hard g
• å in nå is a rounded vowel, somewhat like the vowel in British law, though not exactly the same

Exact pronunciation varies a bit by dialect, but that approximation is a good start.

Often, yes.

• Vaktskiftet begynner nå.
• Vaktskiftet starter nå.

Both can work in many contexts. Begynner is a very general begins/starts, while starter can feel a bit more like starts specifically. In this sentence, both are natural, though begynner is slightly more neutral.

Not necessarily. Vaktskifte can refer to different kinds of changing duty or watch, depending on context.

It can mean things like:

• a work shift change
• a guard change
• a change of watch

So the exact meaning depends on the situation. The grammar stays the same either way.

The sentence is:

• Vaktskiftet = subject
• begynner = verb
• nå = adverb of time

So the structure is:

Subject + Verb + Time expression

That is one of the most basic and common Norwegian sentence patterns.