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Questions & Answers about Telefonen fungerer nå.
What does telefonen mean, and why is there no separate word for “the”?
Telefonen is the definite form of telefon (an en-word), so the -en suffix itself means the. In English you say the phone, but in Norwegian you attach -en to get telefonen.
What does fungerer mean, and why use it here?
Fungerer is the present tense of å fungere, meaning to function or to work. So telefonen fungerer literally means the phone works or the phone is functioning.
Could I use virker instead of fungerer?
Yes. Å virke is a common synonym of å fungere when talking about devices or systems. Telefonen virker nå and telefonen fungerer nå both mean the phone works now.
Why is nå placed at the end of the sentence?
Standard Norwegian word order in main clauses is Subject + Verb + Adverb + Object/complement. Here it’s telefonen (S) + fungerer (V) + nå (Adv.). You can front nå for emphasis: Nå fungerer telefonen, which simply shifts the verb to second position.
Is nå ever confused with når, and how do I tell them apart?
They look similar but mean different things. Nå (one å) means now, while når (with r) means when. Pronunciation differs (nå /noː/, når /nɔːr/), and context makes the meaning clear.
Why isn’t there an auxiliary verb like “is” or “does” in the Norwegian sentence?
Norwegian uses a single present-tense verb form to cover what English often expresses with auxiliary verbs. Fungerer alone can mean works, is working, or does work, so no helper verb is needed.
How do I pronounce Telefonen fungerer nå?
Approximate phonetics: TEH-leh-FOH-nen FOONG-ge-rehr naw.
Stress the FOH in telefonen and FOONG in fungerer; u is like the “oo” in “book” and å sounds like the “aw” in “saw.”