Politiet skal pågripe mannen.

Politi is the basic dictionary form, meaning police.

Politiet is the definite form, meaning the police.

So:

• politi = police
• politiet = the police

This is very common in Norwegian: instead of using a separate word like the, the noun usually gets a definite ending.

Also, politiet often refers to the police as an institution or authority, even though it may involve several officers.

In English, the police is grammatically plural:

• The police are coming.

In Norwegian, politiet is treated as a single noun form:

• Politiet kommer.

So even though it refers to a group of people, the word itself is a definite noun, not a plural noun in the same way as English police.

This is something English speakers often have to get used to.

Skal is a modal verb. In different contexts, it can mean things like:

• will
• is going to
• is supposed to
• shall
• sometimes even must

In this sentence, it most naturally suggests that the arrest is planned, expected, or officially going to happen.

So the feeling is something like:

• The police will arrest the man
• The police are going to arrest the man

The exact nuance depends on context.

After a modal verb like skal, Norwegian uses the infinitive form of the next verb.

So:

• skal pågripe
• kan pågripe
• må pågripe

Not:

• skal pågriper

This is similar to English:

• will arrest, not will arrests

Also, after modal verbs, Norwegian normally does not use å:

• skal pågripe
• not skal å pågripe

Pågripe is a fairly formal or official word meaning to arrest or to apprehend.

It is the kind of word you often see in:

• news reports
• police statements
• legal or official language

It sounds a bit more formal than some everyday alternatives.

Useful forms:

• å pågripe = to arrest
• pågriper = arrests / is arresting
• pågrep = arrested
• har pågrepet = has arrested

Mannen means the man, while en mann means a man.

So:

• en mann = an unspecified man
• mannen = a specific man

Using mannen tells you that the speaker has a particular man in mind, or assumes the listener already knows which man is being referred to.

This is another example of Norwegian putting the definite article at the end of the noun:

• mann = man
• mannen = the man

Usually, yes.

Because it uses skal, the sentence normally points to something that is going to happen:

• a plan
• an expected future action
• an official intention

So it is not just a plain present-tense statement like The police arrest the man. It has a future or planned-action sense.

Depending on context, it can sometimes also imply obligation or instruction, but in a normal news-style sentence it most often means that the arrest is going to happen.

Yes. This is the normal word order for a main clause:

Politiet + skal + pågripe + mannen

That is:

• subject
• finite verb
• infinitive verb
• object

Norwegian main clauses follow the verb-second rule, often called V2. That means the finite verb (skal) comes in the second position.

For example:

• Politiet skal pågripe mannen.
• I kveld skal politiet pågripe mannen.

In both sentences, skal stays in second position.

No, not in this meaning.

Pågripe is a fixed verb meaning arrest/apprehend, and you do not normally split it into gripe + på in this sense.

So you say:

• Politiet pågrep mannen.
• Politiet skal pågripe mannen.

Not:

• Politiet grep på mannen for this meaning

That would not mean arrested the man. So it is best to learn pågripe as one complete verb.