Ikke bare garantiperioden, men også dagmulkten står i protokollen.

It means not only ..., but also ....

In this sentence, it connects two parallel noun phrases:

• garantiperioden = the warranty period
• dagmulkten = the daily penalty / liquidated damages

So the structure is:

Ikke bare X, men også Y ...
= Not only X, but also Y ...

This pattern is very common in Norwegian and is used much like in English.

Because that whole part is the subject of the sentence.

The subject is not just garantiperioden. It is the full coordinated phrase:

ikke bare garantiperioden, men også dagmulkten

In Norwegian, the finite verb normally comes after the subject in a main clause when the subject is in first position. So the structure is:

[Subject] + [Verb] + ...

That is why you get:

Ikke bare garantiperioden, men også dagmulkten står i protokollen.

A learner may expect verb-second inversion because the sentence begins with something other than a simple subject, but here the beginning is still the subject, just a longer one.

Not really. Even though ikke is a negative word, in this fixed pattern it does not mean that the warranty period is not in the protocol.

Instead, ikke bare ..., men også ... is an additive emphasis structure:

• not only the warranty period
• but also the daily penalty

So the sentence is overall positive. It says that both items are included, with extra emphasis on the second one.

They are all definite singular forms:

• garantiperioden = the warranty period
• dagmulkten = the daily penalty
• protokollen = the protocol / record / minutes

In Norwegian, the suffix -en often marks definite singular for many common-gender nouns.

The definite form is used here because the sentence refers to specific, known things, not to these concepts in general. In a legal or contractual context, that is very natural.

Literally, står means stands. But in Norwegian, stå is often used idiomatically about text or information that appears in a document.

So står i protokollen means something like:

• is written in the record
• is stated in the minutes
• is recorded in the protocol

This is a very common Norwegian way of speaking about what a document says.

Because Norwegian usually uses i for something written in a document, record, report, or text.

So you often see patterns like:

• stå i kontrakten = be stated in the contract
• stå i rapporten = be written in the report
• stå i protokollen = be recorded in the protocol / minutes

English sometimes uses in the same way, though translations may vary depending on context.

Yes. A close alternative would be:

Både garantiperioden og dagmulkten står i protokollen.

That means Both the warranty period and the daily penalty are in the protocol.

The difference is emphasis:

• både ... og ... = neutral pairing: both X and Y
• ikke bare ... men også ... = stronger emphasis: not only X, but also Y

So the original sentence suggests that the second item may be somewhat noteworthy or unexpected.

Yes. Dagmulkten comes from the compound noun dagmulkt:

• dag = day
• mulkt = fine / penalty

So dagmulkt is literally something like day-penalty, usually meaning a penalty that accrues per day. With the definite ending -en, it becomes dagmulkten = the daily penalty.

Compound nouns are extremely common in Norwegian, especially in legal, technical, and administrative language.

Sometimes, but not always.

In everyday legal or meeting language, protokoll often means:

• minutes
• record
• official written record

So although protocol is the closest formal-looking English word, the best translation in context may be the minutes or the record rather than the protocol.

This is a good example of a word that looks familiar to an English speaker but may need a context-based translation.

Yes. It can connect many parallel elements, as long as the structure matches on both sides.

For example, it can connect:

• nouns
• verbs
• adjectives
• whole clauses

Examples:

• Han er ikke bare flink, men også hyggelig.
  = He is not only skilled, but also nice.

• Hun ikke bare leste rapporten, men skrev også et svar.
  = She not only read the report, but also wrote a response.

So in your sentence, it just happens to be connecting two noun phrases.