Strømavtalen er ny.

Because Norwegian often makes compound nouns by joining words together. Here, strøm means electricity/power and avtale means agreement/contract, so strømavtale means electricity contract or power agreement.

This is very common in Norwegian. Where English often uses two words, Norwegian frequently uses one:

• strømavtale = electricity contract
• bokhylle = bookshelf
• sommerferie = summer holiday

When the noun is definite, the definite ending is added to the whole compound:

• en strømavtale = an electricity contract
• strømavtalen = the electricity contract

The ending -en is the definite article for many masculine nouns in Norwegian. Instead of putting a separate word like the in front, Norwegian often adds the definiteness to the end of the noun.

So:

• en strømavtale = an electricity contract
• strømavtalen = the electricity contract

This is one of the biggest differences from English. Norwegian usually marks the by adding an ending:

• bilen = the car
• hunden = the dog
• avtalen = the agreement

Because in Norwegian, definiteness is usually built into the noun itself. English says the contract, but Norwegian usually says avtalen, with the definite ending attached.

So in this sentence:

• Strømavtalen = the electricity contract

There is no need for a separate the.

Because ny agrees with the noun and the grammatical context.

In Strømavtalen er ny, the adjective comes after the verb er and describes a singular noun. In this position, the basic singular form is used:

• Avtalen er ny = The agreement is new

Compare:

• en ny avtale = a new agreement
• avtalen er ny = the agreement is new
• nye avtaler = new agreements
• avtalene er nye = the agreements are new

So ny is correct because strømavtalen is singular.

Because this is a very common sentence pattern in Norwegian, just like in English:

• Subject + verb + adjective

Here:

• Strømavtalen = subject
• er = verb
• ny = adjective

So the structure is:

• Strømavtalen er ny
• literally: The electricity contract is new

This works the same way as:

• Bilen er stor = The car is big
• Huset er gammelt = The house is old

Er means is/are/am, the present tense of å være (to be).

Examples:

• Jeg er trøtt = I am tired
• Du er snill = You are kind
• Hun er hjemme = She is at home
• Strømavtalen er ny = The electricity contract is new

Norwegian uses er for all persons in the present tense, which is simpler than English:

• I am
• you are
• he/she is

But in Norwegian:

• jeg er
• du er
• han er
• vi er

Usually, yes, in many everyday contexts. Strøm commonly means electricity or electric power, especially in ordinary speech.

So:

• strømregning = electricity bill
• strømpris = electricity price
• strømavtale = electricity contract

However, strøm can also mean current or flow in other contexts. But in this sentence, it clearly refers to electrical power.

A useful approximate pronunciation is:

STRUHM-ahv-tah-len

A few notes:

• ø is a vowel that does not exist in English. It is somewhat similar to the vowel in French deux or German schön.
• The first part, strøm, has the main stress.
• The -en ending is usually light and unstressed.

If you cannot say ø perfectly yet, that is normal. It is one of the trickier Norwegian vowels for English speakers.

Yes, but that means something slightly different in structure.

• Strømavtalen er ny = The electricity contract is new
• Den nye strømavtalen = The new electricity contract

In den nye strømavtalen, the adjective comes before the noun, so Norwegian uses:

1. a separate definite word: den
2. the adjective form nye
3. the noun still in definite form: strømavtalen

This is called double definiteness, and it is very common in Norwegian:

• den nye bilen = the new car
• det store huset = the big house
• de gamle bøkene = the old books

So you would use den nye strømavtalen as a noun phrase, but Strømavtalen er ny as a full sentence.

The normal word order here is:

Subject + verb + complement

So:

• Strømavtalen = subject
• er = verb
• ny = complement adjective

This is the standard order in a simple statement in Norwegian, just as in English:

• The contract is new
• Strømavtalen er ny

Norwegian main clauses usually keep the verb in the second position, and this sentence follows that rule naturally.