Vrangborden har rettmasker og vrangmasker.

It is the definite singular form of en vrangbord.

• en vrangbord = a ribbing / a ribbed section
• vrangborden = the ribbing / the ribbed section

The ending -en is the usual definite ending for many en-words in Norwegian.

Because vrangbord is treated here as an en-word (common gender), not an et-word (neuter).

So the pattern is:

• en vrangbord → vrangborden

If it were an et-word, the definite singular would usually end in -et instead.

Har is the present tense of å ha, meaning to have.

So:

• har = has / have

A useful thing to remember is that Norwegian verbs do not change for person the way English verbs do. So you get:

• jeg har
• du har
• han har
• vi har
• de har

The form stays har for all of them.

Because they are indefinite plural nouns.

In Norwegian, indefinite plural usually has no article in front of it.

So:

• en rettmaske = a knit stitch

• rettmasker = knit stitches

• en vrangmaske = a purl stitch
• vrangmasker = purl stitches

That is why the sentence says rettmasker og vrangmasker, not something like en rettmasker.

Yes. Norwegian very often builds new nouns by joining words together into one word.

Here you have:

• rett + maske → rettmaske
• vrang + maske → vrangmaske

Then they are made plural:

• rettmaske → rettmasker
• vrangmaske → vrangmasker

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

Outside knitting, they have broader meanings:

• rett can mean right, straight, or correct
• vrang can mean wrong, inside out, reversed, or twisted

But in knitting vocabulary they are specialized:

• rettmaske = knit stitch
• vrangmaske = purl stitch

So even if the literal meanings seem a bit strange, these are standard knitting terms.

Because the subject is one ribbed section, and that one section contains different kinds of stitches.

So the structure is:

• The ribbing has knit stitches and purl stitches

The thing being described is singular, even though the stitches inside it are plural.

If you wanted to talk about several ribbed sections, you would normally need a plural form such as vrangborder or vrangbordene, depending on whether it is indefinite or definite.

Not in this sentence.

It is true that bord often means table, but in compounds it can also have other meanings, and in knitting vrangbord is a fixed term meaning ribbing.

So it is best to learn vrangbord as one vocabulary item, not as vrang + bord = wrong table or anything like that.

It follows the normal Norwegian main-clause order:

• Vrangborden = subject
• har = verb
• rettmasker og vrangmasker = object/complement

So it is a standard Subject–Verb–Object sentence:

• Vrangborden har rettmasker og vrangmasker.

If you turn it into a yes/no question, the verb comes first:

• Har vrangborden rettmasker og vrangmasker?

A rough guide would be:

VRANG-bor-den har RETT-mask-er og VRANG-mask-er

A few pronunciation notes:

• ng in vrang sounds like the ng in sing
• rett has a short e
• masker has stress on the first syllable: MAS-ker
• In many Norwegian accents, rd in bord is pronounced as a single curled sound rather than a clear r
  • d

The exact pronunciation will vary by dialect, but the main stress is usually on the first part of each compound:

• VRANGborden
• RETTmasker
• VRANGmasker