Reiseforsikringsbeviset ligger i vesken.

Because Norwegian, like English, often makes compound nouns, but Norwegian usually writes them as one word.

reiseforsikringsbeviset can be broken down like this:

• reise = travel
• forsikring = insurance
• bevis = certificate / proof
• -et = the for a neuter singular noun

So the core noun is bevis, and everything before it describes what kind of certificate it is: a travel insurance certificate.

-et is the definite article attached to a neuter singular noun. In English, this is usually the.

So:

• et reiseforsikringsbevis = a travel insurance certificate
• reiseforsikringsbeviset = the travel insurance certificate

The reason it is -et is that the base noun bevis is a neuter noun: et bevis.

Because vesken is the definite singular form: the bag.

Compare:

• en veske = a bag
• vesken = the bag

So the sentence is talking about a specific bag, not just any bag.

In Norwegian, the is usually added to the end of the noun instead of appearing as a separate word.

Examples:

• en veske = a bag
• vesken = the bag
• et bevis = a certificate
• beviset = the certificate

This is very normal in Norwegian. English uses a separate article; Norwegian often uses a suffix.

In a Norwegian compound noun, the last part decides the gender and inflection.

Here, the last part is bevis.

Since you say:

• et bevis = a certificate / a proof

the whole compound is also neuter:

• et reiseforsikringsbevis
• reiseforsikringsbeviset

So even though the word is long, the important part for gender is the final noun.

Norwegian often uses position verbs where English would simply use is.

ligger literally means lies / is lying, but in Norwegian it is very commonly used for things that are located somewhere, especially when they are thought of as resting or lying in a place.

So:

• Reiseforsikringsbeviset ligger i vesken sounds very natural.
• Reiseforsikringsbeviset er i vesken is possible, but less specific and often less idiomatic.

Norwegian commonly distinguishes between:

• ligger = lies / is lying
• står = stands / is standing
• sitter = sits / is sitting

ligger is the present tense of å ligge.

Some useful forms are:

• å ligge = to lie
• ligger = lies / is lying
• lå = lay / was lying
• har ligget = has lain / has been lying

In this sentence, ligger describes the certificate’s current location.

i means in or inside.

Since the certificate is inside the bag, i vesken is the natural choice.

Compare:

• i vesken = in the bag
• på vesken = on the bag
• under vesken = under the bag

So i is used because the item is contained within the bag.

This is the normal word order for a simple main clause in Norwegian:

• Reiseforsikringsbeviset = subject
• ligger = verb
• i vesken = adverbial phrase of place

So the pattern is basically:

subject + verb + place

This is standard for Norwegian main clauses.

Yes. That is also correct.

Norwegian is a V2 language, which means the finite verb usually comes in the second position in main clauses.

So both are possible:

• Reiseforsikringsbeviset ligger i vesken.
• I vesken ligger reiseforsikringsbeviset.

The second version puts more focus on where it is.

Not necessarily in a very literal English sense. Norwegian often uses ligger for the location of objects even when English would just say is.

So it does suggest a normal resting position, but it is not strange or overly literal. For an object like a certificate in a bag, ligger is exactly the kind of verb a Norwegian speaker would naturally use.

They are:

• et reiseforsikringsbevis = a travel insurance certificate
• en veske = a bag

And the definite forms used in the sentence are:

• reiseforsikringsbeviset = the travel insurance certificate
• vesken = the bag

So this sentence is a good example of both neuter definite singular and common gender definite singular.