Vedlikeholdsplanen gjelder taket.

Because Norwegian normally writes compound nouns as a single word.
So vedlikeholdsplanen is built from:

• vedlikehold = maintenance
• plan = plan
• -en = the definite singular ending

The whole thing becomes one noun: vedlikeholdsplanen. This is very common in Norwegian, much more so than in English.

The s is a linking s used in many Norwegian compounds. It is not the same as the English possessive 's.

So:

• vedlikehold
• • linking s
• • plan

becomes vedlikeholdsplan.

There is not always a simple rule for when Norwegian uses this linking s, so it is often something you learn together with the word.

The ending -en shows that the noun is definite singular: the maintenance plan.

The base noun is en plan and its definite form is planen. In a compound noun, the last part decides the gender and the ending, so:

• en plan → planen
• en vedlikeholdsplan → vedlikeholdsplanen

Because tak is a neuter noun.

In Norwegian:

• en nouns often get -en in the definite singular
• et nouns often get -et in the definite singular

So:

• et tak = a roof / the roof? actually a roof
• taket = the roof

That is why you get taket, not taken.

In Norwegian, the idea of the is usually added as an ending on the noun.

Compare:

• en plan = a plan
• planen = the plan
• et tak = a roof
• taket = the roof

So instead of using a separate word like English the, Norwegian often puts the definiteness directly onto the noun.

A useful extra point: when there is an adjective, Norwegian often uses both a separate article and the ending:

• det gamle taket = the old roof

Gjelder is the present tense of å gjelde.

So:

• å gjelde = to apply, concern, be valid for
• gjelder = applies / concerns / is valid for

Norwegian present-tense verbs do not change for different persons the way English sometimes does. The same verb form is used with all subjects.

Because in this sentence gjelder takes a direct object.

So Norwegian says:

• Vedlikeholdsplanen gjelder taket.

where taket comes directly after the verb.

English often uses a preposition in similar sentences, but Norwegian verbs do not always match English word-for-word. That is very common when learning Norwegian: you often have to learn which pattern a verb uses.

In this sentence:

• Vedlikeholdsplanen = subject
• gjelder = verb
• taket = object

The normal order here is subject + verb + object, which is also very common in English.

If you switch the two nouns, you change the meaning:

• Taket gjelder vedlikeholdsplanen would mean that the roof is now the subject

So the order matters.

A rough pronunciation is YEL-der.

A few helpful points:

• gj at the start is often pronounced roughly like English y
• the first syllable is stressed
• the exact sound can vary by dialect

So for a learner, YEL-der is a useful approximation.

In Norwegian compounds, the last element determines the gender.

Here, the last part is plan, and plan is a masculine noun:

• en plan
• therefore en vedlikeholdsplan
• and in the definite singular, vedlikeholdsplanen

This is a very useful rule for learners: when you see a long compound noun, look at the final noun to figure out its gender and endings.