Learn Hardcore German: Unser Badezimmer ist klein, aber die Zahnpasta und das Shampoo stehen ordentlich neben der Dusche. - Our bathroom is small, but the toothpaste and the shampoo stand neatly next to the shower.

unser Badezimmer = our bathroom (one bathroom, neuter, nominative)
unsere Badezimmer = our bathrooms (plural)
unseres Badezimmers would be of our bathroom (genitive), and it would also need the noun in genitive: Badezimmers.

Possessive words like mein, dein, unser follow this pattern in the nominative:

masculine: unser Tisch
neuter: unser Badezimmer
feminine: unsere Lampe
plural: unsere Zimmer

So here the correct form for a single neuter subject is unser Badezimmer.

Why is it ist klein and not ist kleines, and why is klein at the end of the first clause?

Here klein is a predicate adjective after the verb sein (ist).

After sein, werden, bleiben, adjectives do not take endings:
- Das Badezimmer ist klein.
- Die Wohnung ist groß.
- Das Auto bleibt teuer.

Adjectives only take endings when they stand directly before a noun:

das kleine Badezimmer
ein kleines Badezimmer
unser kleines Badezimmer

Word order: In a normal main clause, the conjugated verb goes in second position.
So we have:

Unser Badezimmer (1st position: subject)
ist (2nd position: verb)
klein (rest of the sentence / predicate)

That is why we say Unser Badezimmer ist klein.

What does aber do in this sentence, and why is there a comma before it?

aber is a coordinating conjunction meaning but. It connects two main clauses:

Unser Badezimmer ist klein
die Zahnpasta und das Shampoo stehen ordentlich neben der Dusche

In German, when two full clauses with their own subject and verb are connected with aber, you normally separate them with a comma:

…, aber …

Because aber is coordinating (not subordinating), the second clause keeps normal main-clause word order: the verb is still in second position:

aber (connector, outside the clause structure)
die Zahnpasta und das Shampoo (1st position: subject)
stehen (2nd position: verb)
ordentlich neben der Dusche (rest)

Why do we say die Zahnpasta but das Shampoo? Why are the articles different?

Because Zahnpasta and Shampoo have different grammatical genders in German:

die Zahnpasta – feminine (singular)
das Shampoo – neuter (singular)

You simply have to learn the gender of each noun:

die Dusche
das Badezimmer
die Zahnpasta
das Shampoo

In this sentence the definite articles die and das suggest that we are talking about specific items in that bathroom (the particular toothpaste and shampoo there), not toothpaste and shampoo in general.

Why is the verb stehen plural and not steht, even though Zahnpasta and Shampoo are each singular?

The subject of the verb is the whole phrase:

die Zahnpasta und das Shampoo

That is a compound subject: X und Y → plural.

So the verb must also be plural:

Die Zahnpasta und das Shampoo stehen … (plural)
If there were only one item: Die Zahnpasta steht … (singular)
Or: Das Shampoo steht … (singular)

This is the same as in English:

The toothpaste and the shampoo *are next to the shower.
(not: *is)

Why does the sentence use stehen instead of sind?

German often uses special “position verbs” for where things are:

stehen – stand / be in an upright position (bottles, tubes, cupboards, etc.)
liegen – lie / be lying down (books on a table, a person on a bed)
sitzen – sit / be sitting
hängen – hang / be hanging

Using stehen here highlights that the toothpaste and shampoo are standing (placed upright) next to the shower.

You could say sie sind neben der Dusche, and it is grammatically correct, but it sounds less natural. Native speakers usually prefer:

Die Zahnpasta steht im Regal.
Die Bücher liegen auf dem Tisch.
Die Jacke hängt an der Tür.

What is ordentlich grammatically, and why doesn’t it change its form here?

In stehen ordentlich neben der Dusche, ordentlich is an adverb describing how they stand: they stand neatly / tidily.

Adverbs in German:

usually look like the base adjective
do not change for gender, number, or case

Compare:

Adjective before a noun (changes):
- eine ordentliche Küche (a tidy kitchen)
- ordentliche Badezimmer (tidy bathrooms)
Adverb with a verb (no ending):
- Die Küche ist ordentlich aufgeräumt.
- Die Sachen stehen ordentlich im Regal.

In the sentence, ordentlich belongs to the verb stehen, so it stays in its base form.

Why is it neben der Dusche and not neben die Dusche or neben dem Dusche?

Dusche is feminine: die Dusche.
neben is a two-way preposition (Wechselpräposition):
- With dative for a location (where?)
- With accusative for a direction (where to?)

Here, it describes a fixed location (they are already standing there), so we use dative.

Dative singular forms:

masculine: dem
neuter: dem
feminine: der

So:

neben der Dusche = next to the shower (where?) – location, dative feminine
neben die Dusche = to (a place) next to the shower (where to?) – direction, accusative
- e.g. Ich stelle die Flasche neben die Dusche. (I put the bottle next to the shower.)

neben dem Dusche is wrong because Dusche is feminine, so the dative article must be der, not dem.

Can I say … stehen ordentlich bei der Dusche instead of … stehen ordentlich neben der Dusche?

Grammatically, bei der Dusche is possible, but the meaning and feeling are a bit different.

neben der Dusche = right next to the shower, side-by-side; very clear spatial relationship.
bei der Dusche = at / by / near the shower area; more vague, often used more with people or places:
- bei meiner Freundin (at my girlfriend’s place)
- bei der Arbeit (at work)
- bei der Kasse (at the checkout)

For objects that are literally standing right next to something, neben is normally the most natural choice. So neben der Dusche is better here.

Could the word order be … stehen neben der Dusche ordentlich instead of … stehen ordentlich neben der Dusche?

You can put ordentlich at the end:

… stehen neben der Dusche ordentlich.

This is grammatically correct, but it sounds a bit marked or unusual in neutral speech, as if ordentlich is an afterthought or slightly emphasized.

The more neutral and typical order is:

… stehen ordentlich neben der Dusche.

A common guideline for adverbials is:

Time – Manner – Place

Here we only have manner (ordentlich) and place (neben der Dusche), so:

stehen (verb)
ordentlich (manner: how?)
neben der Dusche (place: where?)

Why are Badezimmer, Zahnpasta, Shampoo, Dusche capitalized, but unser, klein, ordentlich are not?

In German:

All nouns are capitalized:
- das Badezimmer
- die Zahnpasta
- das Shampoo
- die Dusche
Adjectives, verbs, and most pronouns are not capitalized, unless they are at the beginning of a sentence or part of a proper name:
- unser – possessive determiner (here at the start, so U is capital only because it’s the first word)
- klein – adjective
- ordentlich – adjective/adverb
- stehen – verb

If unser appeared in the middle of the sentence, it would be unser Badezimmer, not Unser Badezimmer.

How would the sentence change if I want to say “Our small bathroom …” at the beginning, using klein before Badezimmer?

Then klein becomes an attributive adjective (directly before the noun) and must take an ending:

Unser kleines Badezimmer …

For example:

Unser kleines Badezimmer ist klein, aber die Zahnpasta und das Shampoo stehen ordentlich neben der Dusche.

(Style-wise you would probably avoid saying klein twice, but grammatically it’s fine.)

Compare:

with definite article: das kleine Badezimmer
with possessive: unser kleines Badezimmer
with indefinite article: ein kleines Badezimmer

So: after unser + neuter noun in the nominative singular, the adjective gets -es → kleines.