Bilforhandleren åpner motorrommet uten at jeg spør.

In Norwegian, the definite article is often attached to the end of the noun instead of being a separate word.

• bilforhandler = car dealer
• bilforhandleren = the car dealer

And:

• motorrom = engine compartment / engine bay
• motorrommet = the engine compartment

So Norwegian often says the equivalent of car-dealer-the and engine-bay-the, rather than using a separate word like English the.

It is a compound noun:

• bil = car
• forhandler = dealer
• bilforhandler = car dealer
• bilforhandleren = the car dealer

Compounds are very common in Norwegian, and they are usually written as one word.

That is because motorrom is a neuter noun.

A very simplified overview:

• many masculine nouns take definite -en
• many neuter nouns take definite -et

So:

• en bilforhandler → bilforhandleren
• et motorrom → motorrommet

This is just normal noun gender and definite ending behavior in Norwegian.

Åpner is the present tense of å åpne (to open).

In Norwegian, the present tense is often used in ways that overlap with English present simple or even present progressive, depending on context.

So Bilforhandleren åpner motorrommet can mean something like:

• The car dealer opens the engine compartment
• The car dealer is opening the engine compartment

The exact English wording depends on context, but the Norwegian present tense form is completely normal here.

Uten at means without followed by a clause.

Here:

• uten = without
• at introduces a subordinate clause

So:

• uten at jeg spør = without me asking / without my asking

This is a very common structure in Norwegian when you want a full clause after without.

Compare:

• uten å spørre = without asking
• uten at jeg spør = without me asking

The second version explicitly includes the subject jeg.

Because at introduces a subordinate clause, and the clause keeps normal subject-verb order here:

• jeg = subject
• spør = verb

So:

• uten at jeg spør

This is different from the V2 word order you often see in main clauses in Norwegian. After at, you generally do not move the verb in front of the subject.

It does not have to. In both Norwegian and English, ask can sometimes be used without stating the object explicitly when it is understood from context.

So:

• jeg spør = I ask / I ask about it / I ask a question

In this sentence, the idea is simply that the car dealer opens the engine compartment before any question from me is needed. The missing object is understood from context, so leaving it out sounds natural.

Not exactly. They are close in some situations, but they are not identical.

• uten at jeg spør = without me asking
• før jeg spør = before I ask

Uten at jeg spør emphasizes that my asking never happens as part of the situation.
Før jeg spør emphasizes timing: the opening happens earlier than my asking.

In many real contexts, both could make sense, but uten at jeg spør has the stronger nuance that the dealer does it on their own initiative.

It is singular.

• bilforhandler = a car dealer
• bilforhandleren = the car dealer

If it were plural, you would expect something like:

• bilforhandlere = car dealers
• bilforhandlerne = the car dealers

So the sentence is talking about one specific car dealer.

The infinitives are:

• å åpne = to open
• å spørre = to ask

In the sentence, they appear as present tense forms:

• åpner = present tense of å åpne
• spør = present tense of å spørre

Notice that spørre loses the -re ending in the present tense, becoming spør.

The å is a normal Norwegian letter, not the infinitive marker å meaning to.

So in:

• åpner

the å is simply part of the verb stem.

That is different from:

• å åpne = to open

Here the first å is the infinitive marker (to), while the second word is the verb itself.

This can look confusing at first, but native speakers immediately recognize the difference from context.

Yes, it sounds natural.

It gives the idea that the car dealer proactively opens the engine compartment, without waiting for me to ask. That is a very normal use of:

• a definite subject noun: bilforhandleren
• a present tense verb: åpner
• a definite object noun: motorrommet
• the subordinate structure uten at jeg spør

So it is a good example of everyday, idiomatic Norwegian.