A fita adesiva está na gaveta ao lado da cola.

Yes. Fita adesiva is a normal, clear way to say adhesive tape / sticky tape.

A few notes:

• fita = tape, ribbon, strip
• adesiva = adhesive, sticky

In everyday European Portuguese, you may also hear fita-cola, which is very common in informal speech. But fita adesiva is perfectly correct and easy to understand.

Because in Portuguese, adjectives often come after the noun.

So:

• fita adesiva = adhesive tape
• literally, something like tape adhesive

Also, adesiva has to agree with fita:

• fita is feminine singular
• so the adjective is adesiva (not adesivo)

Because estar is normally used for location.

Here the sentence is saying where the tape is:

• A fita adesiva está na gaveta... = The tape is in the drawer...

Portuguese usually uses:

• ser for identity or permanent characteristics
• estar for location, condition, and temporary states

So:

• É uma fita adesiva. = It is an adhesive tape.
• Está na gaveta. = It is in the drawer.

Na is a contraction of em + a.

• em = in / on / at
• a = the (feminine singular)

So:

• na gaveta = in the drawer

This kind of contraction is very common in Portuguese:

• no = em + o
• na = em + a
• nos = em + os
• nas = em + as

Because Portuguese normally contracts those two words.

So:

• em + a gaveta becomes na gaveta

You do not usually say em a gaveta in standard Portuguese. The contracted form na is the normal one.

Ao lado de means next to, beside, or by the side of.

In this sentence:

• ao lado da cola = next to the glue

It is a fixed expression, so learners should try to remember it as a unit:

• ao lado de

Examples:

• ao lado da mesa = next to the table
• ao lado do carro = next to the car

Because ao is a contraction of a + o.

The expression is built with o lado:

• a + o lado = ao lado

So:

• ao lado de literally has the structure at the side of, but in natural English it means next to.

This is another very common contraction:

• ao = a + o
• à = a + a

Because da is a contraction of de + a.

The expression is:

• ao lado de

Then you add a cola:

• de + a cola = da cola

So:

• ao lado da cola = next to the glue

Even though de often means of or from, here it is just part of the expression ao lado de.

Yes. All three nouns here are feminine singular, so they take a:

• a fita
• a gaveta
• a cola

Because fita is feminine, the adjective also agrees:

• fita adesiva
• not fita adesivo

Grammatical gender in Portuguese does not always match biological sex or anything logical in English, so it usually has to be learned with each noun.

In a normal sentence like this, you usually need the article: A fita adesiva.

Portuguese uses definite articles more often than English with specific nouns. Here we are talking about a specific tape, so a sounds natural and standard.

Without the article:

• Fita adesiva está na gaveta...

this sounds incomplete or unnatural in ordinary speech, unless you are using a very special style such as labels, notes, or headlines.

Yes, it can be changed, but the original order is very natural.

The sentence gives:

1. the general place: na gaveta
2. then the more precise position: ao lado da cola

So it sounds like:

• it is in the drawer
• and, more specifically, next to the glue

You could also hear:

• A fita adesiva está ao lado da cola na gaveta.

That is possible, but the original version is often clearer and more natural because it sets the scene first.

Yes, in this context na gaveta naturally means in the drawer / inside the drawer.

Portuguese em can cover English in, on, or at, depending on context. Here, with gaveta (drawer), the natural meaning is clearly inside.

If you wanted to be extra explicit, you could say:

• dentro da gaveta = inside the drawer

But in this sentence, na gaveta already sounds completely normal and sufficient.