Klej leży obok nożyczek i kolorowego papieru.

Because klej is the subject of the sentence: the glue is the thing doing the “lying.”

In Polish, the subject is usually in the nominative case, and for this noun the nominative form is klej.

• klej = nominative singular
• kleju = usually genitive, dative, locative, or vocative singular, depending on context

So here:

• Klej leży... = The glue is lying/is located...

Leży literally means is lying or lies, and it is commonly used for objects that are resting in a horizontal position.

So:

• Klej leży obok... = The glue is lying next to...

If you said Klej jest obok..., it would still be understandable and means The glue is next to..., but leży sounds more natural when talking about where an object is physically placed.

Compare:

• Książka leży na stole = The book is lying on the table
• Książka jest na stole = The book is on the table

Both can work, but leży gives a more physical, concrete sense.

Because obok requires the genitive case.

The preposition obok means next to / beside, and the noun after it must go into the genitive:

• obok + genitive

The dictionary form is:

• nożyczki = scissors

But after obok, it becomes:

• obok nożyczek = next to the scissors

So the change happens because of the preposition, not because the meaning changes.

In Polish, nożyczki is a plural-only noun. This is called pluralia tantum.

That means it behaves grammatically like a plural noun, even when referring to one object.

So:

• dictionary form: nożyczki
• genitive plural: nożyczek

You do not normally use a singular form for scissors in everyday Polish.

This is similar to English in a way, because English also uses the plural form scissors.

Because papier also comes after obok, so it must also be in the genitive case.

The basic forms are:

• kolorowy papier = colored paper
  • kolorowy = colored
  • papier = paper

After obok, both words change:

• kolorowego papieru

Why these endings?

• papier is a masculine singular noun
• in the genitive singular, it becomes papieru
• the adjective must agree with the noun, so kolorowy becomes kolorowego

So:

• obok kolorowego papieru = next to the colored paper

Because i (and) links two things that are both objects of the preposition obok.

So the structure is:

• obok nożyczek
• i
• (obok) kolorowego papieru

The second obok is not repeated, but it is understood.

So the full sense is:

• next to the scissors and next to the colored paper

In natural English, we just say:

• next to the scissors and the colored paper

Yes. The normal reading is that the glue is located beside both items.

So obok nożyczek i kolorowego papieru means:

• next to the scissors and the colored paper

It does not specifically mean between them. If you wanted to say between, Polish would use między.

Yes, Polish word order is fairly flexible.

The neutral version here is:

• Klej leży obok nożyczek i kolorowego papieru.

But you could also say:

• Obok nożyczek i kolorowego papieru leży klej.

This version puts more focus on the location first.

Both are correct, but the original sentence sounds very natural and straightforward.

Yes. Kolorowy papier means colored paper or colorful paper, depending on context.

Here:

• papier = paper
• kolorowy = colored / colorful

So kolorowego papieru is simply the genitive form of that phrase.

If the meaning shown to the learner is something like construction paper or colored paper, that is a normal interpretation in context.

A few useful pronunciation notes:

• klej sounds roughly like kley
• leży sounds roughly like LEH-zhih
• obok sounds like OH-bok
• nożyczek sounds roughly like no-ZHI-chek
• kolorowego sounds roughly like ko-lo-ro-VE-go
• papieru sounds roughly like pa-PYE-ru

A few letter tips:

• ż sounds like the s in measure
• cz sounds like ch in church
• rz often sounds like ż
• j sounds like English y
• ie often gives a ye sound, as in papier

These are only approximate English-style guides, but they can help at the start.

Sometimes, yes, but the meaning may shift slightly.

For example:

• koło = near / by / beside
• przy = by / at / next to, often with a sense of being right by something
• obok = next to / beside

So:

• Klej leży obok nożyczek... = The glue is next to the scissors...
• Klej leży koło nożyczek... = very similar, often near/by the scissors
• Klej leży przy nożyczkach... = also possible, but the case changes because przy takes the locative, not the genitive

That last point is important:

• obok nożyczek → genitive
• przy nożyczkach → locative

So you cannot just swap prepositions without also checking the case.