Filmskanneren håndterer også filmnegativet.

Because Norwegian usually writes compound nouns as a single word.

So:

• film
  • skanner → filmskanner
• filmskanneren = the film scanner

This is very common in Norwegian, much more so than in English. Where English often uses separate words, Norwegian often combines them:

• film scanner → filmskanner
• car door → bildør
• school bus → skolebuss

A good rule is: if English has a noun + noun combination, Norwegian often turns it into one compound word.

The -en is the definite article attached to the noun. It means the.

So:

• en filmskanner = a film scanner
• filmskanneren = the film scanner

Unlike English, Norwegian usually puts the at the end of the noun instead of before it.

This is one of the most important differences between English and Norwegian.

Because in Norwegian, the definite article is usually a suffix, not a separate word.

Compare:

• English: the scanner
• Norwegian: skanneren

So filmskanneren already includes the. Adding a separate article would be wrong here.

Håndterer is the present tense of å håndtere.

• å håndtere = to handle / to process / to manage
• håndterer = handles / is handling

In Norwegian, the present tense does not change for different persons:

• jeg håndterer
• du håndterer
• han/hun håndterer
• vi håndterer

So Norwegian is simpler than English here, because there is no special -s form like he handles.

Usually yes in this sentence, but the exact English translation depends on context.

Å håndtere can mean:

• to handle
• to manage
• to deal with
• sometimes to process or support, especially in technical contexts

In a sentence about a scanner or device, håndterer often means something like:

• can handle
• supports
• processes

So even if the meaning has already been shown to you, it is useful to know that the Norwegian verb is a bit broader than one single English word.

Because that is the normal position for this kind of adverb in a Norwegian main clause.

The structure here is:

• Filmskanneren = subject
• håndterer = finite verb
• også = adverb
• filmnegativet = object

So the pattern is:

Subject + verb + adverb + object

This is very natural in Norwegian:

• Han kommer også i morgen.
• Vi bruker også denne metoden.
• Filmskanneren håndterer også filmnegativet.

An English speaker may want to place also in several different positions, but Norwegian is a bit stricter about where også normally goes.

Not as a normal main clause.

In a standard Norwegian main clause, the finite verb usually comes in second position. That means håndterer should stay right after the subject here:

• Filmskanneren håndterer også filmnegativet. ✓

Putting også before the finite verb in this sentence sounds wrong.

Because filmnegativet already means the film negative.

Compare:

• et filmnegativ = a film negative
• filmnegativet = the film negative

You do not say et filmnegativet, just as you would not say a the film negative in English.

So once the noun has the definite ending -et, you normally do not add the indefinite article et.

Because they belong to different grammatical genders.

In Bokmål, singular nouns can be:

• masculine
• feminine
• neuter

Here:

• en filmskanner → filmskanneren
  masculine definite singular: -en
• et filmnegativ → filmnegativet
  neuter definite singular: -et

So the ending changes depending on the noun’s gender.

You learn it together with the noun:

• et filmnegativ

That tells you it is neuter. Then the definite form becomes:

• filmnegativet

This is why it is very helpful to memorize Norwegian nouns with their article:

• en skanner
• et negativ
• en bil
• et hus

If you only memorize the bare noun, you miss important grammar information.

Yes.

It is made of:

• film
• negativ

Together they form filmnegativ, meaning a film negative.

So this sentence actually contains two compound nouns:

• filmskanner
• filmnegativ

That is very typical Norwegian.

Because Norwegian does not add a separate the just because something is an object.

English uses separate articles:

• the scanner handles the film negative

Norwegian attaches the definite article to the noun itself:

• filmskanneren håndterer også filmnegativet

So both nouns are definite, but the definiteness is shown by the endings:

• -en
• -et

Their job in the sentence, subject or object, does not change that.

It is the most common choice, but not the only possible form in Norwegian.

In Bokmål, you may also see òg, which also means also. It is less neutral in some contexts and more common in certain styles or dialect-influenced writing.

So:

• også = standard, very common
• òg = also correct in Bokmål

For learners, også is the safest form to use.

The å is pronounced like a vowel somewhat similar to the vowel in British English law or more, though not exactly the same.

A rough guide:

• hånd sounds somewhat like hawnd
• terer is pronounced with a clear Norwegian r

So håndterer is roughly:

HON-teh-rer
but with a Norwegian-style r and vowel quality

You do not need perfect pronunciation right away, but it helps to notice that å is a separate letter in Norwegian, not just a with an accent.

Yes, this is standard Bokmål.

In Nynorsk, a similar sentence would more likely look like:

• Filmskannaren handterer òg filmnegativet.

Main differences:

• -en → -aren in skannaren
• håndterer → handterer
• også → òg

So if you are learning Bokmål, the original sentence is perfectly normal.

The sentence follows a very common Norwegian main-clause pattern:

Subject + finite verb + adverb + object

Here that gives:

• Filmskanneren = subject
• håndterer = finite verb
• også = adverb
• filmnegativet = object

So it is a very useful model sentence for Norwegian word order.