Дротик лежит рядом с баррелем.

Дротик is the subject of the sentence, so it stays in the nominative singular.

• Dictionary form: дротик
• Gender: masculine
• Number: singular

In this sentence, it is the thing that is lying somewhere.

Лежит is the 3rd person singular present-tense form of лежать.

So it means lies or is lying.

Russian often uses verbs like:

• лежать = to lie
• стоять = to stand
• сидеть = to sit
• висеть = to hang

So лежит is not just a generic is. It tells you the object is in a lying position.

In Russian, the verb to be is usually not expressed in the present tense in simple location sentences.

English says:

• The dart is next to the barrel

Russian often prefers something more like:

• The dart lies next to the barrel

That is why лежит sounds natural here. It gives both:

• the fact of location
• the physical position of the object

Рядом с means next to, beside, or near.

It is a fixed expression:

• рядом = nearby, close by
• с = used here as part of the expression

So you learn it best as one unit:

• рядом с кем-то / чем-то = next to someone / something

Because рядом normally combines with с + instrumental case when you say what something is next to.

So Russian says:

• рядом с домом = next to the house
• рядом с машиной = next to the car
• рядом с баррелем = next to the barrel

You generally should memorize it as:

• рядом с + instrumental

Because рядом с requires the instrumental case.

The dictionary form is:

• баррель

But after рядом с, it changes to instrumental singular:

• баррелем

So:

• баррель = nominative
• баррелем = instrumental

This is one of the most important things to notice in the sentence.

Yes, it is the same Russian word с, but here it does not mean with in the usual companionship sense.

Compare:

• с другом = with a friend
• рядом с другом = next to a friend

So in this sentence, с is part of the pattern рядом с + instrumental.

Yes. Russian word order is more flexible than English.

You can say:

• Дротик лежит рядом с баррелем.
• Рядом с баррелем лежит дротик.

Both are grammatical. The difference is mainly focus:

• Дротик лежит рядом с баррелем focuses first on the dart
• Рядом с баррелем лежит дротик focuses first on the location

English usually has less freedom here.

Yes, often you can.

For example:

• Дротик лежит около барреля
• Дротик лежит возле барреля

These also mean the dart is near / next to the barrel.

A useful difference:

• рядом с often feels more like right next to
• около and возле can be a little more general, like near

Also notice the grammar changes:

• рядом с
  • instrumental
• около
  • genitive
• возле
  • genitive

So the case after the preposition changes.

The usual stress is:

• дро́тик
• лежи́т
• ря́дом
• ба́ррелем

So the whole sentence is pronounced approximately:

• ДРО-тиκ ле-ЖИТ РЯ-дом с БА-рре-лем

Stress is very important in Russian, because it is not always predictable.

Yes, you could say:

• Дротик находится рядом с баррелем

This means something like The dart is located next to the barrel.

But it sounds:

• more formal
• more neutral
• less visual

Лежит is more natural if you want to describe the actual physical position of the object.

Yes. The verb agrees with the subject in number.

• дротик = singular
• лежит = singular

If the subject were plural, you would use:

• дротики лежат рядом с баррелем = the darts are lying next to the barrel

So:

• лежит = singular
• лежат = plural