Nå som gardinstangen er på plass, kan hun male veggen med en bred pensel.

Nå som means now that in this sentence. It introduces a reason or background situation:

• Nå som gardinstangen er på plass = Now that the curtain rod is in place

This is a fixed expression. Even though nå by itself means now, nå som works together as a conjunction-like phrase meaning now that / since now.

Norwegian usually writes compound nouns as one word, much more consistently than English does.

So:

• gardin = curtain
• stang = rod/pole
• gardinstang = curtain rod
• gardinstangen = the curtain rod

The ending -en is the definite article attached to the noun, so instead of saying a separate word for the, Norwegian often adds it to the end.

The -en is the definite ending for many masculine/common-gender nouns.

So:

• en gardinstang = a curtain rod
• gardinstangen = the curtain rod

This is very normal in Norwegian. The article is often attached to the noun rather than standing separately like English the.

Er på plass literally means is in place, but in natural English it often means something like:

• installed
• set up
• positioned properly
• ready where it should be

So gardinstangen er på plass suggests the curtain rod has been put up or positioned correctly.

This expression is very common in Norwegian and can be used both literally and more generally:

• Alt er på plass. = Everything is in place / Everything is ready.

This is because Norwegian follows the V2 rule in main clauses: the finite verb normally comes in the second position.

The sentence begins with the subordinate clause:

• Nå som gardinstangen er på plass

After that, the main clause starts. Because something has been placed first, the finite verb comes before the subject:

• kan hun male veggen ...

So the structure is:

• fronted element + finite verb
  • subject

Compare:

• Hun kan male veggen. = She can paint the wall.
• Nå som gardinstangen er på plass, kan hun male veggen.

That inversion is completely normal.

Yes. It is a subordinate clause giving background or reason.

It starts with nå som, and inside that clause the word order is the normal subordinate-clause order:

• gardinstangen er på plass

Then the main clause follows:

• kan hun male veggen med en bred pensel

A useful thing to notice is that the inversion happens in the main clause, not inside the subordinate clause.

Because modal verbs in Norwegian are followed by the infinitive without å.

Here:

• kan male = can paint

This is the same pattern you see with other modal verbs:

• skal male = will/is going to paint
• må male = must paint
• vil male = wants to/will paint
• bør male = should paint

So å is not used after kan.

Male veggen means paint the wall — the wall is the direct object, the thing being painted.

• male veggen = paint the wall

If you say male på veggen, it more strongly suggests paint on the wall, as in putting paint onto the wall surface, possibly making marks or pictures on it.

So in this sentence, male veggen is the natural choice if the meaning is that she is painting the wall itself, for example redecorating it.

Med means with, and the phrase med en bred pensel tells you the instrument she is using.

Breakdown:

• med = with
• en = a
• bred = broad/wide
• pensel = brush
• med en bred pensel = with a broad brush

So it functions like an adverbial phrase describing how or with what she paints the wall.

Because pensel is a common-gender noun, and the adjective agrees with that.

For singular indefinite common-gender nouns:

• en bred pensel

The adjective is in its basic form here: bred.

You would see bredt with a neuter singular noun:

• et bredt bord = a wide table

So:

• en bred pensel
• et bredt ...

That difference is standard adjective agreement in Norwegian.

Yes, depending on context. Bred often corresponds to broad or wide.

In this sentence, en bred pensel is most naturally:

• a broad brush
• sometimes a wide brush

Both are understandable, but broad brush may sound a bit more natural in English in this context.

Veggen means the wall.

The definite form is used because the wall is understood as a specific wall in the situation. It is not just any wall; it is the wall she is going to paint.

Compare:

• en vegg = a wall
• veggen = the wall

So male veggen means paint the wall, not paint a wall.

In this sentence, hun is the subject form, so it means she.

Norwegian distinguishes:

• hun = she
• henne = her

Since hun comes after the finite verb in the main clause and is the subject of kan male, it must be she here.

Yes, in normal writing a comma is used here because the sentence begins with a subordinate clause:

• Nå som gardinstangen er på plass, kan hun male veggen med en bred pensel.

That comma helps show where the subordinate clause ends and the main clause begins. It is standard punctuation in Norwegian.

Yes. You could say:

• Hun kan male veggen med en bred pensel nå som gardinstangen er på plass.

That is also grammatical. The difference is mostly one of emphasis and flow.

• Starting with Nå som ... emphasizes the condition/background first.
• Starting with Hun kan ... emphasizes the action first.

Both are natural, but the original version foregrounds the idea that the curtain rod is now in place.