Learn Hardcore German: Die Bloggerin legt den Notizblock neben den Laptop. - The blogger puts the notepad next to the laptop.

Legen means to lay / to put (something) down in a lying position.
So Die Bloggerin legt den Notizblock… = The blogger lays/puts the notepad…

Liegen means to lie / to be lying (no movement, just position).

Der Notizblock liegt neben dem Laptop. = The notepad is lying next to the laptop.

So:

legen = action, putting something somewhere → needs an object and often a direction (Accusative).
liegen = state, being in a place → often uses Dative for location.

Why is it die Bloggerin and not der Blogger? Does German show the gender of the blogger?

Yes. In German, many professions and roles have masculine and feminine forms:

der Blogger = male blogger
die Bloggerin = female blogger

The -in ending is a common marker for feminine forms:

der Lehrer → die Lehrerin (teacher)
der Student → die Studentin

Because the noun Bloggerin is grammatically feminine, the article must be die in the nominative singular:

Die Bloggerin legt den Notizblock neben den Laptop.

Why are den Notizblock and den Laptop in the accusative case?

There are two reasons:

Direct object:
den Notizblock is the thing being acted on.
- Who is doing something? → die Bloggerin (subject, nominative)
- What is she doing? → laying the notepad (direct object, accusative)
  For a masculine noun in singular, accusative is den:
- der Notizblock (nom.) → den Notizblock (acc.)
Direction / movement to a place:
neben den Laptop describes where to the notepad is being placed (a direction, not a static location).
Two-way prepositions like neben take:
- Accusative for movement toward a place
- Dative for position at a place
So here it’s movement: the notepad is being moved to a position next to the laptop → neben den Laptop (accusative).

Why is it neben den Laptop and not neben dem Laptop?

The preposition neben (next to, beside) is a two-way preposition.
It uses:

Accusative when there is movement toward a place (direction).
Dative when it’s just describing where something is (location).

Compare:

Sie legt den Notizblock neben den Laptop.
→ She puts the notepad next to the laptop. (movement → den, accusative)
Der Notizblock liegt neben dem Laptop.
→ The notepad is lying next to the laptop. (no movement, just location → dem, dative)

In your sentence, it’s about placing the notepad there (movement), so neben den Laptop is correct.

Can I change the word order, for example: Die Bloggerin legt neben den Laptop den Notizblock?

Yes, that word order is grammatically possible:

Die Bloggerin legt den Notizblock neben den Laptop.
Die Bloggerin legt neben den Laptop den Notizblock.

Both are correct. The first is more neutral and typical. The second sounds slightly more marked or stylistic, as it emphasizes the place neben den Laptop first before naming what is being placed there.

In German, the typical rule is:
Subject – Verb – (Time) – (Manner) – Place – Object (but it is flexible).

As long as the verb is in second position (legt is number 2) and the sentence parts are clear, German allows some reordering, especially for emphasis.

Could I use stellt or tut instead of legt? What would change?

legen = to lay something down so it ends up in a lying position (flat, horizontal).
stellen = to place/put something so it ends up in a standing position (upright, vertical).
tun = very general “to do/put,” but in standard written German it is usually avoided for this meaning.

For a Notizblock (a pad of paper), legen is natural because it usually lies flat:

Die Bloggerin legt den Notizblock neben den Laptop. = She places it flat.

You could say stellt if you imagine a block or book being put upright (e.g. on its edge), but that’s less typical imagery for a notepad.
tut would sound colloquial and not very good style here:

…tut den Notizblock neben den Laptop is understandable but not recommended in standard German.

Is Notizblock the same as Notizbuch?

They are related but not identical:

der Notizblock
- Literally “note pad / memo pad”
- Often a stack or pad of paper, maybe glued or spiral-bound, sometimes tear-off sheets.
das Notizbuch
- Literally “notebook” (a bound book of blank pages for notes).

In many contexts, both might be translated as notebook, but Germans hear a difference:

Block = pad
Buch = book

So Notizblock is closer to a pad, Notizbuch to a small book of pages.

Why is Laptop masculine (der Laptop) and not neuter (das Laptop) in this sentence?

The word Laptop in standard German is masculine:

der Laptop (nominative)
den Laptop (accusative)
dem Laptop (dative)

The gender of many loanwords (especially technical items) is often masculine, but it’s largely a matter of convention and must be memorized. There is no simple rule that “-top” or “-op” makes it masculine; it’s just how the word is used in German.

Some speakers might occasionally use das Laptop colloquially, but der Laptop is the correct standard form.

Why is Bloggerin capitalized? Are all nouns capitalized in German?

Yes, in German all nouns are capitalized:

die Bloggerin
der Notizblock
der Laptop

This includes:

Concrete things: Tisch, Auto, Notizblock
People and roles: Bloggerin, Lehrer, Studentin
Abstract things: Liebe, Zeit, Freiheit

Verbs, adjectives, and most other words are not capitalized (except at the beginning of a sentence or in certain special cases).

How would I say this sentence in the past tense and in the future tense?

1. Simple past (Präteritum) – mostly written, for regular speech you’d usually use perfect:

Die Bloggerin legte den Notizblock neben den Laptop.
→ The blogger laid/put the notepad next to the laptop.

2. Present perfect (Perfekt) – most common in spoken German for past events:

Die Bloggerin hat den Notizblock neben den Laptop gelegt.
→ Literally: has put the notepad next to the laptop.

3. Future (Futur I):

Die Bloggerin wird den Notizblock neben den Laptop legen.
→ The blogger will put the notepad next to the laptop.

How would the sentence change if the objects were plural, like several notepads or several laptops?

Plural notepads:

Die Bloggerin legt die Notizblöcke neben den Laptop.
- die Notizblöcke = plural of der Notizblock
- Accusative plural article is die (same as nominative plural).

Plural laptops:

Die Bloggerin legt den Notizblock neben die Laptops.
- die Laptops = plural of der Laptop, but article in plural is die.

Both plural:

Die Bloggerin legt die Notizblöcke neben die Laptops.

In plural, there is no difference between nominative and accusative in the article: always die for all genders.

How would I replace die Bloggerin with a pronoun in another sentence?

Die Bloggerin is feminine singular, so the corresponding personal pronoun is sie (she).

Examples:

Die Bloggerin legt den Notizblock neben den Laptop. Sie macht eine Pause.
→ The blogger puts the notepad next to the laptop. She takes a break.

In English, she is always lowercase, but in German Sie (capital S) can also mean you (formal). Context and capitalization matter:

sie (lowercase) = she / they
Sie (uppercase) = you (formal, singular or plural)

In your sentence, the subject Die Bloggerin would normally be replaced later by sie (lowercase) for “she”.

How would I express a similar idea using liegt instead of legt?

Using liegt changes the meaning from action to position:

Die Bloggerin legt den Notizblock neben den Laptop.
→ She puts the notepad down next to the laptop (action, movement).
Der Notizblock liegt neben dem Laptop.
→ The notepad is lying next to the laptop (state, no movement).

Notice the case change with neben:

With movement: neben den Laptop (accusative)
With location: neben dem Laptop (dative)

You also have to change the subject: if you use liegt, the Notizblock is now the subject, because it is the thing that is lying somewhere.

What is the difference between neben and bei in this kind of sentence?

Both can translate as “near/by,” but they are used differently:

neben = next to, beside → emphasizes side-by-side position.
- Der Notizblock liegt neben dem Laptop.
  → The notepad is next to the laptop (right beside it).
bei = at, with, near, by → more general “in the vicinity of / at someone’s place / with someone.”
- Der Notizblock liegt bei dem Laptop. (less common in this sense)
  Could mean it’s in the same area as the laptop, but not necessarily right next to it.

In your original sentence, neben is the precise and natural choice because it expresses “placing something directly next to something else.”