Bilen stannar efter en meter.

Because bilen is the definite singular form of bil.

• bil = car / a car
• bilen = the car

In Swedish, the definite article is often added as an ending instead of being a separate word like the in English.

So:

• en bil = a car
• bilen = the car

Stannar is the present tense form of the verb stanna.

• att stanna = to stop
• stannar = stops / is stopping

In a normal statement, Swedish needs a finite verb, so you use stannar, not the infinitive stanna.

Examples:

• Bilen stannar. = The car stops.
• Jag vill stanna. = I want to stop.

After a modal verb like vill, you use the infinitive. In an ordinary present-tense sentence, you use stannar.

This is a very common question.

• stanna usually means to stop in the sense of come to a stop
• stoppa usually means to stop something or make something stop

So in this sentence, bilen stannar means the car stops by itself or comes to a stop.

Compare:

• Bilen stannar. = The car stops.
• Han stoppar bilen. = He stops the car.

So stanna is often intransitive, while stoppa is often transitive.

More or less, yes.

In Bilen stannar efter en meter, efter en meter means after one meter in the sense of once it has moved one meter.

So efter can be used with:

• time: efter en timme = after an hour
• distance: efter en meter = after one meter

Here it refers to distance traveled, not position in space.

Because meter is a common-gender noun in Swedish, so it takes en.

Swedish nouns are divided into two grammatical genders:

• en-words
• ett-words

Meter is an en-word, so:

• en meter
• metern
• två meter

You simply have to learn the gender of each noun along with the word.

Because meter is one of the Swedish nouns that often has the same form in singular and plural in the indefinite form.

So:

• en meter = one meter
• två meter = two meters
• fem meter = five meters

But the definite plural is different:

• meterna = the meters

This pattern is very common with measurement words and many borrowed nouns.

This sentence uses the basic Swedish main-clause word order:

subject + verb + adverbial

• Bilen = subject
• stannar = verb
• efter en meter = adverbial phrase

So the structure is completely normal.

You can also move the adverbial to the front, but then Swedish keeps the verb in second position:

• Efter en meter stannar bilen.

That is a good example of the Swedish V2 rule: in a main clause, the finite verb usually comes second.

Usually, no—not with the same meaning.

Bilen stannar is the natural way to say the car stops.

Stoppar normally suggests that someone or something stops something else, or in some contexts that something blocks or interrupts something. So bilen stoppar would usually not be the standard choice for the car comes to a stop.

For this sentence, stannar is the correct and natural verb.

Usually it means after traveling one meter, and it often sounds fairly literal. But as in English, the exactness depends on context.

• In a technical or factual context, it may mean exactly or approximately exactly
• In casual speech, it can sometimes be a rough statement

So grammatically it means after one meter, but real-world precision comes from the situation, not from the grammar alone.

By itself, Bilen stannar efter en meter is in the present tense, and Swedish present tense can be used in more than one way.

It can mean:

• a general statement: The car stops after one meter
• a description of what is happening in a narrative
• sometimes even a future-like meaning if the context supports it

So the sentence alone does not force only one interpretation. Context tells you whether this is:

• a general fact
• a repeated result
• a specific event being described

For example, in a troubleshooting context, it could mean: The car stops after one meter every time.