若い女性が車のハンドルを握っていた。

young; youthful; immature; green; low (number); small

woman; female; feminine gender

indicates sentence subject (occasionally object); indicates possessive (esp. in literary expressions); but; however; still; and

car; automobile; vehicle; wheel

indicates possessive; nominalizes verbs and adjectives; substitutes for "ga" in subordinate phrases; (at sentence-end, falling tone) indicates a confident conclusion; (at sentence-end) indicates emotional emphasis; (at sentence-end, rising tone) indicates question

handle; steering wheel; (bicycle) handlebar

indicates direct object of action; indicates subject of causative expression; indicates an area traversed; indicates time (period) over which action takes place; indicates point of departure or separation of action; indicates object of desire, like, hate, etc.

to clasp; to grasp; to grip; to clutch; to make (nigirizushi, rice ball, etc.); to form; to press into shape; to mold; to mould; to seize (power, etc.); to take hold of