Das Notizbuch liegt zwischen dem Buch und der Zeitung.

Das Notizbuch liegt zwischen dem Buch und der Zeitung.
The notebook lies between the book and the newspaper.
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Questions & Answers about Das Notizbuch liegt zwischen dem Buch und der Zeitung.

Why does zwischen take the dative case in this sentence?
Zwischen is a two-way (Wechsel) preposition. When it describes a static location (“where something is”), it requires the dative case. Here the notebook isn’t moving; it simply lies between two objects. Hence we use dem Buch and der Zeitung (both in dative).
Why do the definite articles change to dem and der here?

German articles reflect case, number, and gender. In the dative singular:

  • masculine and neuter nouns take dem
  • feminine nouns take der Since Buch is neuter, it becomes dem Buch. Zeitung is feminine, so it becomes der Zeitung.
Why is liegt used instead of steht?

Both mean “to be located,” but:

  • liegt describes something lying flat (horizontal position).
  • steht describes something standing up (vertical position). A notebook lies flat, so we say liegt.
Why didn’t we use ist? Could we say Das Notizbuch ist zwischen dem Buch und der Zeitung?
Although ist (is) would be grammatically correct, German prefers a “position verb” (liegen, stehen, hängen) to indicate the orientation of an object. Das Notizbuch liegt… sounds more natural and precise when talking about physical placement.
What’s the difference between liegen and legen?
  • liegen is intransitive (“to lie”)—it describes where something already is.
  • legen is transitive (“to lay [something]”)—it describes placing an object into a lying position.
    Example:
    • Ich lege das Buch auf den Tisch. (I lay the book onto the table.)
    • Das Buch liegt auf dem Tisch. (The book lies on the table.)
Why is there das before Notizbuch? Can we omit the article?
German almost always uses articles with singular nouns to mark case, number, and gender. Omitting das here would sound odd. We say das Notizbuch to indicate “the notebook” in the nominative singular neuter.

Can I start the sentence with the prepositional phrase?
“Zwischen dem Buch und der Zeitung liegt das Notizbuch.”

Yes. German allows fronting an adverbial phrase for emphasis. You then keep the verb in second position:
Zwischen dem Buch und der Zeitung (1) liegt (2) das Notizbuch.

How would I ask a question to find out this information?

Use the question word Wo (where) and invert subject and verb:
Wo liegt das Notizbuch?

Could I use unter instead of zwischen here?
No. Unter means “under” (below something). Zwischen means “between” (in the middle of two items). They aren’t interchangeable in this context.