Obie książki leżą na stole.

Polish does not have articles like English the and a/an.

So Obie książki leżą na stole can naturally mean Both books are lying on the table, with definiteness understood from context.

Polish usually shows whether something is specific or general through:

• context
• word order
• stress/emphasis
• sometimes other words like ten / ta / to (this / that)

So you do not need a word for the here.

Obie means both, and it must agree with the noun it describes.

Here, the noun is książki (books), which is:

• plural
• feminine (because singular książka is feminine)

So the correct form is obie.

A useful comparison:

• dwie książki = two books
• obie książki = both books

So dwie just gives the number, while obie means the two in question, both of them.

Very roughly:

• obie → with feminine plural nouns
• oba → with many non-feminine/non-masculine-personal patterns
• obaj → with masculine personal groups

For książki, obie is the correct choice.

Yes. Obie książki means both books, so it refers to exactly two books.

If there were more than two books and you wanted to say all the books, you would use something else, for example:

• wszystkie książki = all the books

So:

• dwie książki = two books
• obie książki = both books
• wszystkie książki = all the books

Because the noun is the subject of the sentence, and it is plural.

The dictionary form is:

• książka = book

Its nominative plural form is:

• książki = books

That is the form you use here because the books are the ones doing the action of lying.

Compare:

• książka leży na stole = The book is lying on the table
• książki leżą na stole = The books are lying on the table

Książek is a different case form, not the one needed here.

Leżą is the 3rd person plural form of leżeć (to lie).

Since the subject is plural:

• książka → leży
• książki → leżą

So:

• Książka leży na stole = The book is lying on the table
• Książki leżą na stole = The books are lying on the table

The verb has to agree with the subject in number.

Both can work, but they are not exactly the same.

• Książki są na stole = The books are on the table
• Książki leżą na stole = The books are lying on the table

Są is more neutral and just states location.

Leżą gives a more physical picture: the books are resting there, typically lying flat or simply placed on the surface. With objects like books, Polish often prefers this kind of verb.

So leżą sounds very natural here.

Stole is the locative form of stół (table).

After the preposition na, Polish uses different cases depending on the meaning:

• location (on, already there) → locative
• movement onto something → accusative

Here the books are already on the table, so it is location:

• na stole = on the table

Compare:

• Książki leżą na stole = The books are lying on the table
• Położyłem książki na stół = I put the books onto the table

So:

• stół = basic form
• stole = locative after na for location

Yes. Polish word order is fairly flexible.

The neutral order here is:

• Obie książki leżą na stole.

But you can move things around for emphasis:

• Na stole leżą obie książki. → emphasizes where
• Obie książki na stole leżą. → more marked, less neutral
• Leżą na stole obie książki. → also possible, often with a special emphasis or style

So the original sentence is the most straightforward and natural neutral version, but other orders are possible.

Yes. Obydwie książki leżą na stole is also correct.

Obie and obydwie both mean both here. In many situations they are interchangeable.

The difference is usually one of style:

• obie = shorter, very common
• obydwie = slightly fuller or more emphatic

For everyday use, obie is perfectly natural.

Then the meaning becomes less specific.

• Obie książki leżą na stole. = Both books are lying on the table.
• Książki leżą na stole. = The books are lying on the table / Books are lying on the table.

Without obie, you no longer clearly say both. You are just talking about books on the table, and the exact meaning depends more on context.

A rough English-friendly guide is:

• Obie ≈ OB-yeh
• książki ≈ KSHONSH-kee
• leżą ≈ LEH-zhon
• na stole ≈ nah STO-leh

A few important sound notes:

• ż sounds like the s in measure
• ą is a nasal vowel; before some consonants it may sound a bit like on/om
• ksi in książki is a soft cluster that English does not really have, so it takes practice

Stress in Polish is usually on the second-to-last syllable of each word:

• OBie
• KSIążki
• LEżą
• STOle