To find the total fractional portion of nonworking lights, we need to determine the fraction of lights that don't work on each street and then add them together.
On the first street, there are a total of $n$ lightbulbs, so the fraction of nonworking lights is $\frac{23}{n}$.
On the second street, there are a total of $m$ lightbulbs, so the fraction of nonworking lights is $\frac{16}{m}$.
Since the two streets are separate, the total fractional portion of nonworking lights is $\frac{23}{n} + \frac{16}{m}$. (Note that we cannot express this sum as a single fraction because the denominators $n$ and $m$ are different.)
Thus, the total fractional portion of nonworking lights is $\boxed{\frac{23}{n} + \frac{16}{m}}$.
An electrical company decides to replace the lightbulbs in all of the nonworking street lights on two specific streets. The company learns that 23 of the lights do not work on the first street and 16 of the lights do not work on the second street. What is the total fractional portion of the nonworking lights on these two streets?
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