Ara la forquilla és sobre la taula i el ganivet és al costat del plat.

Not strictly. Ara means now, and here it sets the time frame or contrasts the current situation with another one.

Without it, the sentence is still grammatical:

La forquilla és sobre la taula i el ganivet és al costat del plat.

So ara adds context, not basic grammar.

Because Catalan normally uses articles with specific nouns, just as English often does in a sentence like this.

Here, you are talking about particular objects:

• la forquilla = the fork
• la taula = the table
• el ganivet = the knife
• el plat = the plate

A good habit in Catalan is to learn nouns together with their article, because the article also tells you the noun’s gender.

Sobre specifically means on, on top of, or over, so it clearly shows the fork is resting on the surface of the table.

A la taula can be less precise and can sometimes mean at the table rather than clearly on the table.

So:

• sobre la taula = clearly on the table
• a la taula = can depend more on context

Al costat de is a fixed expression meaning next to, beside, or literally at the side of.

So:

• al costat del plat = next to the plate

It is built like this:

• a
  • el costat
    • de
      • noun

With contractions, that becomes:

• a + el → al
• de + el → del

So al costat del plat is literally something like at the side of the plate.

Because Catalan normally contracts these combinations:

• a + el = al
• de + el = del

So:

• a el costat becomes al costat
• de el plat becomes del plat

These contractions are very common and are normally required.

But notice:

• a + la stays a la
• de + la stays de la

For example:

• a la taula
• de la taula

This is a very common question, especially if you know Spanish.

In Catalan, ser is often used for simple location in neutral descriptions, especially in standard or careful language, and very often with things:

• La forquilla és sobre la taula.

In many varieties of spoken Catalan, estar can also appear for location, especially if the speaker wants to emphasize the current position or temporary placement.

So the short answer is:

• és is correct and natural here
• està may also be heard in some contexts or varieties, but you should not assume Catalan follows Spanish in exactly the same way

The accent in és is part of the correct spelling of the verb ser in the third person singular:

• és = is

The accent helps distinguish it from es, which is an unstressed pronoun used in reflexive or passive-style constructions.

So:

• és = verb
• es = pronoun

In this sentence:

• la forquilla = feminine
• la taula = feminine
• el ganivet = masculine
• el plat = masculine

Sometimes endings help:

• nouns ending in -a are often feminine

But this is not always reliable, so the safest strategy is to learn each noun together with its article:

• la forquilla
• la taula
• el ganivet
• el plat

That way, you automatically learn both the word and its gender.

Sometimes yes, especially in informal or compact style, if the meaning is still clear:

Ara la forquilla és sobre la taula i el ganivet al costat del plat.

But for learners, and in clear standard writing, repeating és is completely normal and often better:

Ara la forquilla és sobre la taula i el ganivet és al costat del plat.

So omitting it can work, but keeping it is the safest and most natural choice when you are learning.

No. Al costat de is one very common and neutral way to say it, and it works perfectly here.

Depending on context or region, Catalan can also use other expressions such as:

• prop de = near
• a tocar de = right next to, very close to

But al costat de is the best direct match for beside / next to in this sentence.