Zszywacz leży obok drukarki.

• zszywacz = stapler
• leży = is lying / is located
• obok = next to / beside
• drukarki = of the printer, but in natural English the whole phrase means next to the printer

So literally, the sentence is something like The stapler is lying next to the printer.

Because obok normally requires the genitive case in Polish.

The basic dictionary form is drukarka = printer.
After obok, it changes to the genitive singular:

• drukarka → drukarki

So:

• obok drukarki = next to the printer

This is a very common pattern. Other prepositions also force specific cases, and obok is one of the ones that takes the genitive.

Zszywacz is in the nominative case, because it is the subject of the sentence.

The sentence is telling us what the stapler is doing or where it is, so zszywacz is the thing performing the state of leży.

• zszywacz = nominative singular
• drukarki = genitive singular

Yes, leży literally means lies or is lying.

In Polish, leżeć is often used for things that are in a resting position, especially objects that are lying somewhere. In English, we often prefer is in sentences like The stapler is next to the printer, but Polish commonly uses a more specific verb.

So Zszywacz leży obok drukarki sounds natural in Polish.

It suggests the stapler is physically there, resting there.

Yes, you can, and it would be understood.

But there is a small nuance:

• leży obok drukarki sounds more natural for a physical object resting somewhere
• jest obok drukarki is more neutral and simply means is next to the printer

For everyday speech about objects on a desk, leży is often the better choice.

Yes, when obok means next to / beside, it is followed by the genitive.

Examples:

• obok stołu = next to the table
• obok domu = next to the house
• obok drukarki = next to the printer

So this is a useful rule to remember: obok + genitive

Yes, although they can all relate to nearness.

• obok = next to / beside
• koło = near / by / next to
• przy = at / by / beside, often suggesting very close contact or position

For this sentence:

• Zszywacz leży obok drukarki = The stapler is next to the printer
• Zszywacz leży koło drukarki = The stapler is near/by the printer
• Zszywacz leży przy drukarce = The stapler is right by the printer

All can work in some contexts, but obok clearly gives the idea of being beside something.

Because Polish does not have articles like a, an, and the.

So:

• zszywacz can mean a stapler or the stapler
• drukarki can mean of a printer or of the printer, depending on context

The exact meaning is understood from the situation, not from an article.

Yes. Polish word order is more flexible than English word order.

The neutral order here is:

• Zszywacz leży obok drukarki.

But you might also hear:

• Obok drukarki leży zszywacz.

This still means the same thing, but it shifts the emphasis a little. The second version focuses more first on the location: Next to the printer, there is a stapler.

So the original sentence is standard and natural, but other word orders are possible.

A rough English-friendly guide would be:

• zszywacz ≈ SHIH-vach
• leży ≈ LEH-zhih
• obok ≈ OH-bok
• drukarki ≈ droo-KAR-kee

A few pronunciation notes:

• ż sounds like the s in measure
• cz sounds like ch, but harder, like in chop
• y is not exactly English ee; it is a shorter, more central vowel
• rz/ż in leży gives that zh sound

So the whole sentence is approximately:

SHIH-vach LEH-zhih OH-bok droo-KAR-kee

Yes, leży is present tense, third person singular: he/she/it lies.

The infinitive is leżeć = to lie.

A few forms are:

• ja leżę = I am lying
• ty leżysz = you are lying
• on / ona / ono leży = he / she / it is lying

In this sentence, zszywacz is grammatically masculine, so Polish uses the same third-person singular form: zszywacz leży.