Bæreselen ligger på sekketrallen.

Because Norwegian usually adds the definite article to the end of the noun instead of using a separate word like the.

• en bæresele = a baby carrier / a carrying harness

• bæreselen = the baby carrier / the carrying harness

• en sekketralle = a sack trolley / a hand truck
• sekketrallen = the sack trolley / the hand truck

So this sentence uses two definite nouns: the carrier and the trolley.

Because Norwegian makes compound nouns by joining words together.

• sekk = sack, bag
• tralle = trolley, cart

So sekketralle literally means something like sack trolley. English sometimes writes similar expressions as two words, but Norwegian usually writes them as one word.

The same thing happens with bæresele:

• bære = carry
• sele = harness

So bæresele is literally a carrying harness.

In Norwegian, it is very common to use a position verb where English would simply use is.

Here, ligger means is lying / is located.

So:

• Bæreselen er på sekketrallen is understandable, but less natural in many contexts.
• Bæreselen ligger på sekketrallen sounds more like normal Norwegian when talking about where an object is.

Norwegian often prefers:

• ligger for something lying horizontally or just resting somewhere
• står for something standing upright
• sitter for something attached, seated, or positioned closely against something

This is one of the trickier things for English speakers, because English often just says is.

A simple guide:

• ligger: lying, resting, spread out, not upright
• står: standing upright
• sitter: sitting, attached, fastened, or positioned snugly

In this sentence, the speaker imagines the carrier as resting on the trolley, so ligger is natural.

For example:

• Boka ligger på bordet. = The book is on the table.
• Flaska står på bordet. = The bottle is on the table.
• Bildet sitter på veggen. = The picture is on the wall.

So the verb depends on how the thing is positioned.

På usually means on or on top of.

In Bæreselen ligger på sekketrallen, the idea is that the carrier is resting on the trolley.

Compare:

• på = on
• i = in, inside

So if the item were inside something, Norwegian would more likely use i. But since it is on the trolley, på is the natural choice.

The sentence has very normal Norwegian main-clause word order:

Bæreselen + ligger + på sekketrallen
subject + verb + place

So:

• Bæreselen = subject
• ligger = verb
• på sekketrallen = prepositional phrase telling where

This is the same basic order English uses here.

You could also move the location to the front:

• På sekketrallen ligger bæreselen.

That is still correct, but then Norwegian keeps the verb in second position, which is an important rule in main clauses.

They are both singular countable nouns, and in learner-friendly Bokmål they are normally treated with en in the indefinite singular:

• en bæresele
• en sekketralle

Then the definite singular forms are:

• bæreselen
• sekketrallen

So this sentence is talking about one specific carrier and one specific trolley.

The letter æ is a Norwegian vowel that does not exist as a separate letter in English.

A rough approximation is the vowel in bad or cat for many English speakers, though it is not exactly the same in all accents.

A rough pronunciation guide:

• bæreselen ≈ BEH-reh-sell-en
• sekketrallen ≈ SEK-keh-trall-en

That is only approximate, but it can help you get started.

Often, yes, but it depends on context.

Literally, it is made from:

• bære = carry
• sele = harness

So the word can refer to a carrier harness, and in many everyday contexts it means a baby carrier. If your translation already shows the exact meaning for this sentence, follow that context-specific meaning.

Yes, but it means something slightly different.

• Bæreselen ligger på sekketrallen. = The carrier is on the trolley.
• En bæresele ligger på en sekketralle. = A carrier is on a trolley.

So the version with -en refers to specific, known items, while the version with en introduces them as non-specific.