I bilen satt hun stille ved rattet, men hun sa at motoren lagde en rar lyd.

This is because Norwegian is a V2 language in main clauses. That means the finite verb usually comes in the second position.

So if you start the sentence with I bilen (In the car), the verb has to come next:

• I bilen satt hun ...
• literally: In the car sat she ...

If you started with the subject, you would get:

• Hun satt stille ved rattet ...

Both are correct. The version with I bilen puts extra focus on the setting.

I bilen means in the car.

• bil = car
• bilen = the car

Norwegian often uses the definite form when talking about a specific, known object in the situation. Here, it is not just any car, but the car she is sitting in.

Compare:

• i bilen = in the car
• i en bil = in a car

Satt is the past tense of å sitte (to sit).

So:

• å sitte = to sit
• sitter = sits / is sitting
• satt = sat / was sitting

In this sentence:

• I bilen satt hun stille ...
  = In the car, she sat still ...

Norwegian often uses the simple past where English might use either sat or was sitting, depending on context.

Here, stille means still or motionless.

So:

• satt hun stille = she sat still

Be careful: stille can also mean quiet or silent in other contexts. The exact meaning depends on the sentence.

Examples:

• Barna var stille. = The children were quiet.
• Hun sto stille. = She stood still.

In your sentence, it is about not moving much, not about speaking quietly.

Because stille is the normal form of this adjective, and it does not change here.

Some Norwegian adjectives change form depending on gender/number, but adjectives ending in -e are often unchanged:

• en stille mann
• et stille rom
• stille barn

In this sentence, stille is describing how she sat, so it works naturally as still.

Ved rattet means at the steering wheel or more naturally behind the wheel.

• ved = by / at / next to
• rattet = the steering wheel

So the phrase tells you where she was positioned in the car: in the driver’s place.

English would usually say behind the wheel, but Norwegian often says ved rattet.

Because men means but, and here it joins two full clauses:

1. I bilen satt hun stille ved rattet
2. hun sa at motoren lagde en rar lyd

In Norwegian, it is normal to put a comma before men when it connects two independent clauses.

At means that and introduces a subordinate clause.

So:

• hun sa at ... = she said that ...

After at, Norwegian uses subordinate clause word order, not main-clause V2 word order.

That is why you get:

• hun sa at motoren lagde en rar lyd

and not something like main-clause inversion.

A useful comparison:

• Main clause: Motoren lagde en rar lyd.
• After at: hun sa at motoren lagde en rar lyd

If there were an adverb like ikke, the subordinate-clause pattern becomes even clearer:

• hun sa at motoren ikke lagde lyd
• not at motoren lagde ikke lyd

Yes. Lagde is a correct past tense form of å lage.

• å lage = to make / to produce
• lagde = made

In this sentence, motoren lagde en rar lyd means the engine made a strange sound.

In Bokmål, laget can also be used as a past tense form of lage, but lagde is very common and often clearer, because laget is also the past participle.

So:

• motoren lagde en rar lyd = fully normal

Because lyd is a common-gender noun in Norwegian.

• en lyd = a sound
• lyden = the sound

The adjective must match that noun form:

• en rar lyd = a strange sound

Compare:

• en rar lyd = a strange sound
• et rart hus = a strange house

Here, rar is the common-gender singular form, which matches lyd.

No. This is an important false friend.

In Norwegian:

• rar usually means strange, odd, or funny

So:

• en rar lyd = a strange sound

It does not usually mean uncommon in the same way English rare does.

Yes, that is also grammatical and natural.

Compare:

• I bilen satt hun stille ved rattet ...
• Hun satt stille ved rattet i bilen ...

The difference is mostly about focus and style:

• I bilen ... puts the location first
• Hun ... puts the person first

Norwegian allows this kind of flexibility, but the V2 rule still applies in main clauses.