Anbudet gjelder ikke bare fasaden, men også etterisoleringen.

Because anbudet is the definite singular form of anbud.

• anbud = a tender / a bid
• anbudet = the tender / the bid

Norwegian usually adds the definite article as an ending, instead of using a separate word like the.

Also, anbud is a neuter noun, so its definite singular ending is -et.

They are definite because the sentence is talking about specific things already understood from the context: a particular façade and a particular insulation job.

• fasade → fasaden = the façade
• etterisolering → etterisoleringen = the additional insulation / the insulation retrofit

This is very normal in Norwegian. If the speaker has a specific building or project in mind, the definite form is the natural choice.

Here, gjelder means something like:

• concerns
• applies to
• covers
• is about

So Anbudet gjelder ... means that the tender concerns or includes those parts of the project.

A useful thing to notice is that Norwegian often uses å gjelde directly with a noun:

• Anbudet gjelder fasaden.

In English, you might naturally say applies to the façade, but in Norwegian no extra preposition is needed here.

This is the standard Norwegian pattern for not only ... but also ...

• ikke bare = not only
• men også = but also

So the structure is:

• Anbudet gjelder ikke bare fasaden, men også etterisoleringen.

That means the tender includes one thing, and in addition it includes another.

It is a very common expression, and English speakers can usually learn it as a direct equivalent of not only ..., but also ...

Because ikke bare works together as one expression meaning not only.

You should think of it as a set phrase:

• ikke bare X, men også Y

In this sentence, X is fasaden and Y is etterisoleringen.

So the phrase is built to say:

• not only the façade
• but also the additional insulation

Because both nouns are objects of the same verb.

The structure is:

• Anbudet gjelder
  • ikke bare fasaden
  • men også etterisoleringen

In English, we also usually avoid repeating the verb in this kind of structure:

• The tender concerns not only the façade, but also the additional insulation.

You could repeat the verb in Norwegian in some contexts for emphasis or clarity, but it would usually sound unnecessary here.

Etterisoleringen comes from etterisolering, which refers to adding insulation to a building that already exists.

So it is not just insulation in a general sense. It usually means:

• additional insulation
• retrofitting insulation
• insulating afterwards / later

The prefix etter- often has the idea of after or afterwards. In building language, etterisolering is a common term for improving insulation in an older structure.

Because Norwegian normally writes compounds as one word.

So:

• etter
  • isolering → etterisolering
• definite form: etterisoleringen

This is very typical of Norwegian. English often uses separate words where Norwegian prefers compounds.

For learners, this is important: if two ideas form one single concept, Norwegian will often combine them into one word.

Yes. A very natural alternative would be:

• Anbudet gjelder både fasaden og etterisoleringen.

That means:

• The tender concerns both the façade and the additional insulation.

The difference is mainly one of emphasis:

• ikke bare ..., men også ... = emphasizes that the second item may be unexpected or especially worth mentioning
• både ... og ... = a more neutral both ... and ...

So both are correct, but they are not exactly identical in tone.

The given version is the most natural neutral wording:

• Anbudet gjelder ikke bare fasaden, men også etterisoleringen.

The key thing is that ikke bare should stay with the part it is focusing on, here fasaden.

You can create more marked or formal versions, but they are less straightforward. For example, fronting the expression would sound more literary or rhetorical.

So for normal usage, it is safest to keep this pattern:

• subject
• verb
• ikke bare X, men også Y

That is the most useful model to remember.

Yes. In this sentence, both fasaden and etterisoleringen function as direct objects of gjelder.

So structurally, the sentence is:

• Anbudet = subject
• gjelder = verb
• ikke bare fasaden, men også etterisoleringen = object phrase

This matters because English speakers sometimes expect a preposition after verbs like apply or concern, but here Norwegian simply uses the noun directly.