Arbeidskontrakten kommer på e-post, og hun leser den før hun signerer.

Because Norwegian very often makes compound nouns by joining words together.

Here:

• arbeid = work
• kontrakt = contract

So arbeidskontrakt means employment contract or work contract.

Then -en is added at the end to mean the, giving:

• arbeidskontrakt = employment contract
• arbeidskontrakten = the employment contract

The s in the middle is a linking sound that often appears in compounds, so arbeid + kontrakt becomes arbeidskontrakt.

In Norwegian, the definite article is usually attached to the end of the noun.

So instead of saying something like the contract, Norwegian often says:

• kontrakten = the contract

And in this sentence:

• arbeidskontrakten = the employment contract

This is completely normal in Norwegian. English uses a separate word (the), but Norwegian usually uses an ending like:

• -en
• -a
• -et

depending on the noun.

Den means it here, and it refers back to arbeidskontrakten.

Norwegian nouns have grammatical gender, and kontrakt is a common gender noun, so the pronoun is den.

Compare:

• common gender noun → den
• neuter noun → det

So:

• en kontrakt → den
• et hus → det

That is why the sentence says hun leser den = she reads it.

Yes, literally it is something like comes by email / arrives via email.

In Norwegian, komme på e-post is a natural way to say that something is sent or received by email.

So:

• Arbeidskontrakten kommer på e-post = The employment contract arrives by email / comes by email

English and Norwegian do not always use the same prepositions, so even if på often means on, here you should learn på e-post as a set expression.

Because på e-post is the idiomatic Norwegian expression.

Norwegian often uses:

• på e-post = by email
• på telefon = by phone

You may also see via e-post, which is understandable, but på e-post is very common and natural in everyday Norwegian.

So this is mostly a matter of normal usage rather than strict logic.

Norwegian often uses the present tense where English might sometimes prefer a future expression.

In this sentence, the present tense describes a normal sequence of events:

• the contract arrives,
• she reads it,
• then she signs.

This can sound very natural in Norwegian, especially when talking about something planned, expected, or generally true in a situation.

So:

• kommer = comes / will come
• leser = reads
• signerer = signs

Depending on context, English might translate this with either present or future wording.

It could be, but Norwegian often leaves out the object when it is obvious from context.

Here, everyone understands that what she signs is the employment contract. So:

• hun leser den før hun signerer
  literally: she reads it before she signs

In natural English, we often want signs it, but in Norwegian it is very normal to omit the object if it is clear.

You could also say:

• hun leser den før hun signerer den

But that sounds a bit more explicit, and often less natural in a simple sentence like this.

This shows the difference between a main clause and a subordinate clause.

The sentence has:

1. Arbeidskontrakten kommer på e-post
2. og hun leser den
3. før hun signerer

In the main clauses, Norwegian usually follows normal subject + verb order:

• hun leser

After før (before), you get a subordinate clause, and Norwegian keeps the order:

• hun signerer

So this part is very straightforward:

• før hun signerer = before she signs

A learner may expect unusual word order because Norwegian often has verb-second rules, but after a subordinating conjunction like før, the clause usually has the more familiar subject + verb order.

Traditionally, yes, e-post is commonly written with a hyphen in Norwegian.

You will very often see:

• e-post = email
• en e-post = an email
• på e-post = by email

In less formal contexts, some people may write forms influenced by English, but e-post is the standard and safest form to learn.

Because hun specifically means she.

Norwegian has:

• han = he
• hun = she

There is also hen, a gender-neutral pronoun, but it is still less traditional and is used in more specific contexts. In a standard sentence like this, hun simply means that the person is female.

Yes, if the context is already clear.

For example:

• Kontrakten kommer på e-post, og hun leser den før hun signerer.

That would mean:

• The contract comes by email, and she reads it before she signs.

Using arbeidskontrakten is more specific. It tells you exactly what kind of contract it is: an employment contract.

Here, før is a subordinating conjunction meaning before.

It connects the main clause to the subordinate clause:

• hun leser den
• før hun signerer

So it introduces the action that happens later in the sequence.

You can think of it as marking time:

• first she reads it,
• then she signs.

Then you would use the indefinite form:

• En arbeidskontrakt kommer på e-post, og hun leser den før hun signerer.

That means:

• An employment contract comes by email, and she reads it before she signs.

But in many real situations, arbeidskontrakten is more natural because it refers to a specific contract both speaker and listener know about.