Det blir vanskeligere å konsentrere seg når telefonen ringer hele tiden.

It becomes harder to concentrate when the phone rings all the time.

Breakdown of Det blir vanskeligere å konsentrere seg når telefonen ringer hele tiden.

• å: to
• det: it
• når: when
• bli: to become
• telefonen: the phone
• ringe: to ring
• hele tiden: all the time
• konsentrere seg: to concentrate
• vanskeligere: harder

Questions & Answers about Det blir vanskeligere å konsentrere seg når telefonen ringer hele tiden.

Why does the sentence start with Det? What does Det refer to?

Here Det is a dummy subject (an “it” that doesn’t point to a specific noun). Norwegian often uses det to introduce a general situation: Det blir vanskeligere ... = “It becomes harder ... / It gets harder ...”
You could also say Å konsentrere seg blir vanskeligere når ..., but the det-version is very common and sounds natural.

Why is blir used instead of er?

Blir means “becomes/gets,” focusing on a change or development: it gets harder (especially as the ringing continues).
Er would be more like a static statement: Det er vanskeligere å konsentrere seg ... = “It is harder to concentrate ...”
Both can work, but blir often fits better when something makes the situation progressively worse.

What’s going on with vanskeligere—why not mer vanskelig?

Norwegian usually forms the comparative of many common/short adjectives with -ere:

• vanskelig → vanskeligere (hard → harder)

Mer + adjective is typically used with longer adjectives or when the -ere form sounds awkward.

Why is there å before konsentrere?

Å is the infinitive marker, like English to.
So å konsentrere seg = “to concentrate (oneself).”

Why does it say konsentrere seg? What does seg mean here?

Konsentrere seg is a reflexive verb in Norwegian: you “concentrate yourself.”
seg is the reflexive pronoun used for “oneself” in general statements (not tied to a specific person).

If you specify a person, it changes:

• Jeg konsentrerer meg. (I concentrate.)
• Du konsentrerer deg. (You concentrate.)
• Han/hun konsentrerer seg. (He/she concentrates.)

Could I replace seg with meg in this sentence?

Not in this exact sentence, because it’s a general statement (no jeg). meg would mean “myself,” and you’d need a matching subject:

• Det blir vanskeligere for meg å konsentrere meg når ... (It becomes harder for me to concentrate when ...)

Why is telefonen in the definite form (-en)?

Norwegian often uses the definite form when talking about a known/typical item in the situation, similar to English “the phone”:

• telefonen = “the phone”

Even if it hasn’t been mentioned before, it can still be definite because it’s understood from context (the phone that’s relevant here).

Why is ringer in the present tense? Is this about right now or in general?

Present tense in Norwegian commonly covers habitual/repeated actions as well as “right now.”
With hele tiden (“all the time”), it strongly reads as a repeated/ongoing habit: the phone keeps ringing.

What’s the difference between når and da in sentences like this?

når is used for:

• habitual/repeated situations (“when(ever)”)
• future situations (“when” in the future)

da is typically used for:

• a specific event in the past (“when” meaning “that time when”)

Here the phone ringing hele tiden suggests repetition, so når is the natural choice.

What does hele tiden mean exactly, and where does it go in the sentence?

Hele tiden means “all the time / constantly.” It acts like an adverbial phrase and commonly goes near the end of the clause:

• telefonen ringer hele tiden = “the phone rings all the time”

You can move it for emphasis, but end position is very typical.

Can you explain the word order, especially after når?

Yes:

• Main clause: Det blir vanskeligere å konsentrere seg
  Norwegian main clauses normally have verb-second (V2) word order, and here the verb blir is right after Det.

• Subordinate clause after når: når telefonen ringer hele tiden
  In subordinate clauses, Norwegian does not use V2; it keeps a more direct order: subject + verb (telefonen ringer).

Is å konsentrere seg functioning like a noun phrase here?

Yes. The infinitive phrase å konsentrere seg works like the thing that is difficult—similar to an English gerund idea (“concentrating”).
So structurally: “It becomes harder to concentrate when ...”