Garantibeviset var på langt nær ferdig.

to be

Breakdown of Garantibeviset var på langt nær ferdig.

• ferdig: finished
• garantibeviset: the warranty certificate
• på langt nær: nowhere near; not at all

Questions & Answers about Garantibeviset var på langt nær ferdig.

What is garantibeviset, and why does it end in -et?

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

Why is garantibevis written as one word?

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.

What does var mean here?