Learn Hardcore Norwegian: Hele kvartalet pyntes med lys til jul. - The whole block is decorated with lights for Christmas.

In Norwegian, when you use words like hele (“whole”) before a noun, that noun must be in the definite form. So kvartal (“a block”) becomes kvartalet (“the block”). Together hele kvartalet means “the whole block.”

Why is hele used here? Couldn’t we say alle?

Hele is used with singular nouns to mean “whole” or “entire” (e.g. hele huset, “the whole house”). Alle is used with plural nouns to mean “all” (e.g. alle husene, “all the houses”). Since kvartalet is singular, we use hele.

What does pyntes mean, and what is its infinitive form?

Pyntes is the passive present tense of å pynte (“to decorate”). In this sentence, it means “is decorated” or “gets decorated.”

Could we say blir pyntet instead of pyntes?

Yes. Blir pyntet is another passive construction (using blir + past participle). Hele kvartalet blir pyntet med lys til jul means the same thing; pyntes just sounds a bit more formal and concise.

Why is there no “by whom” after pyntes? How do you express the agent?

In Norwegian passive sentences, the agent (the doer) is optional if it’s not important. If you need to mention it, you use av. For example:
Hele kvartalet pyntes med lys til jul av kommunen
(“The whole block is decorated with lights for Christmas by the municipality.”)

What does med lys mean, and why is med used?

Med means “with.” Here med lys indicates the instrument or means—“with lights.” It tells you what they’re using to decorate.

Why til jul and not for jul or i julen?

Til jul here means “for Christmas” or “in time for Christmas.”
I julen would mean “during the Christmas season.”
For jul is not idiomatic in Norwegian in this context.

Can we move til jul to the front of the sentence? If so, what happens to word order?

Yes. Norwegian follows the V2 (verb-second) rule: the verb must be the second element. So you can say:
Til jul pyntes hele kvartalet med lys.
Notice pyntes comes right after til jul (the first element).

How would you say this sentence in the active voice?

You could say:
Vi pynter hele kvartalet med lys til jul.
(“We decorate the whole block with lights for Christmas.”)
You can even drop vi if the subject is obvious from context.