Garantibeviset var på langt nær ferdig.

Garantibeviset is a noun made up of:

• garanti = guarantee / warranty
• bevis = proof, certificate, document

Together, garantibevis means something like warranty certificate or proof of warranty.

The ending -et is the definite article attached to the noun, so garantibeviset means the warranty certificate.

In Norwegian, you usually do not put a separate word for the in front of the noun. Instead, the definiteness is added as a suffix:

• et garantibevis = a warranty certificate
• garantibeviset = the warranty certificate

Because Norwegian normally writes compound nouns as one word.

So:

• garanti + bevis → garantibevis

This is very common in Norwegian and often feels strange to English speakers, since English frequently uses separate words:

• warranty certificate
• train station
• school bus

In Norwegian, those kinds of combinations are usually written as single compounds.

Var is the past tense of å være (to be).

So:

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

In this sentence, var links the subject garantibeviset to the description på langt nær ferdig.

På langt nær is an idiomatic expression meaning:

• far from
• by no means
• not nearly

So var på langt nær ferdig means that it was far from finished or not nearly finished.

This is not something you should translate word-for-word. It is best learned as a fixed expression.

A close synonym is langt fra:

• Garantibeviset var langt fra ferdig.
• Garantibeviset var på langt nær ferdig.

Both mean roughly the same thing.

Because på langt nær already gives the sentence that negative/far-from meaning.

So even without ikke, the phrase itself can mean that something is by no means or far from being the case.

That is why:

• var på langt nær ferdig

already means:

• was far from finished

You may also come across ikke på langt nær in other sentences, especially for extra emphasis, but in this sentence på langt nær works on its own.

Because ferdig is one of those adjectives that does not add -t in the neuter singular.

Since garantibeviset is a neuter noun, an English speaker might expect a neuter form ending in -t, but adjectives ending in -ig usually keep the same form in singular predicate position:

• Huset er ferdig.
• Arbeidet er ferdig.
• Garantibeviset var ferdig.

The plural is different:

• Dokumentene er ferdige.

So here ferdig is the correct form.

Because på langt nær functions as a phrase modifying the adjective ferdig.

The structure is:

• Garantibeviset = subject
• var = verb
• på langt nær ferdig = description of the subject

The phrase på langt nær comes before the adjective it modifies, much like far from in English:

• far from ready
• på langt nær ferdig

So the word order is natural Norwegian word order for this kind of expression.

Ferdig often means finished, done, or ready, depending on context.

For example:

• Maten er ferdig. = The food is ready.
• Jeg er ferdig. = I’m done.
• Arbeidet er ferdig. = The work is finished.

In this sentence, it means something like finished or completed.

Yes. A very common alternative is:

• Garantibeviset var langt fra ferdig.

That is often more straightforward for learners, and very natural in everyday Norwegian.

Another possible phrasing could be:

• Garantibeviset var ikke i nærheten av å være ferdig.

That is a bit more expanded, and means something like The warranty certificate was nowhere near being finished.

So på langt nær is correct, but it can sound a little more idiomatic or formal than the simplest alternative langt fra.