Learn Hardcore Russian: Мой блокнот лежит на столе рядом с компьютером. - My notebook is lying on the table next to the computer.

The basic form is стол (nominative, dictionary form).
After the preposition на meaning “on” (location, not movement), Russian uses the prepositional case.
Masculine nouns like стол take the ending -е in the prepositional singular: стол → столе.

Compare:

на стол – onto the table (motion, accusative)
на столе – on the table (location, prepositional)

So in this sentence, we’re describing where the notebook is, not movement toward the table, so we use на столе.

Why do we use лежит here? Could we say есть or находится instead?

Лежит comes from лежать – to lie (be lying in a horizontal position).

Russian often uses specific “position verbs” for where things are:

лежать – to lie (flat, horizontal)
- Книга лежит на столе. – The book is lying on the table.
стоять – to stand (upright, vertical)
- Стул стоит у окна. – The chair is standing by the window.
висеть – to hang
- Картина висит на стене. – The picture is hanging on the wall.

A notebook is usually flat on the table, so лежит is natural.

Other options:

находится – “is located” (more neutral/formal):
Мой блокнот находится на столе рядом с компьютером.
Correct, but sounds a bit heavier in everyday speech.
есть in the meaning “there is” is usually omitted in the present tense in such sentences. You would not say: Мой блокнот есть на столе… – that sounds unnatural. You just say лежит.

Why is it рядом с компьютером and not just рядом компьютера?

The preposition рядом (“near, next to”) almost always goes together with с + instrumental case:

рядом с кем? с чем? – next to whom? what?

Компьютер in the instrumental singular becomes компьютером:

Nominative: компьютер
Instrumental: компьютером (ending -ом for masculine nouns)

So:

рядом с компьютером – next to the computer

You generally cannot say рядом компьютера; that’s ungrammatical. You need рядом с plus the instrumental form.

Why is it мой блокнот and not моя / моё / мои блокнот? What gender is блокнот?

Блокнот is a masculine noun. In Russian, most nouns ending in a consonant (like -т) are masculine.

The possessive pronoun “my” agrees with the noun’s gender and number:

мой – masculine singular
моя – feminine singular
моё – neuter singular
мои – plural (all genders)

Since блокнот is masculine singular, you must say:

мой блокнот – my notebook

Examples with other genders:

моя тетрадь – my (fem.) notebook/exercise book
моё письмо – my letter
мои книги – my books

Can I leave out мой and just say Блокнот лежит на столе рядом с компьютером?

Yes, you can. That would usually be understood as “The notebook is on the table next to the computer”, and in context it will very often still mean your notebook.

In Russian, possessive pronouns like мой, твой, его, etc. are often omitted when the owner is obvious from context:

Talking about your own things:
Ключи в сумке. – (My) keys are in (my) bag.
Talking about family members:
Мама на работе. – (My) mom is at work.

Adding мой can:

make the ownership explicit
sometimes add contrast/emphasis: Это не твой, это мой блокнот. – It’s not yours, it’s my notebook.

Can I change the word order, like На столе рядом с компьютером лежит мой блокнот?

Yes. Russian word order is flexible, and all of these are grammatically correct:

Мой блокнот лежит на столе рядом с компьютером.
– Neutral, simple statement. Common order: subject → verb → place.
На столе рядом с компьютером лежит мой блокнот.
– Slight emphasis on the place (on the table next to the computer) as the important information.
Рядом с компьютером на столе лежит мой блокнот.
– Also possible, but sounds a bit more “packed”; still focuses on location.

Word order in Russian mainly affects emphasis / what is new information, not basic grammar, as long as you keep the structures intact (e.g. рядом с компьютером must stay together).

What exactly does блокнот mean? Is it the same as “notebook” (like a laptop)?

Блокнот is a paper notepad or notebook for writing notes, usually small, often spiral-bound or tear-off.

It does not mean a notebook computer. Common words:

блокнот – (paper) notepad, writing pad
тетрадь – school notebook/exercise book (lined, for lessons)
записная книжка – address/phone book, personal diary of contacts/notes
ноутбук – laptop (computer)
компьютер – computer (desktop or generic)

So in this sentence, мой блокнот is a physical notebook for writing, not a laptop.

Why isn’t there a separate word for “is” in the sentence, like “is lying”?

Russian usually omits the present tense of “to be” (быть) in statements like this.

English: My notebook *is lying on the table.*
Russian: Мой блокнот лежит на столе.
(literally: My notebook lies on the table.)

The verb лежит already carries the idea of “is lying”:

subject: мой блокнот
verb: лежит

If you are just saying “X is Y” (no extra verb like “lie/stand/hang”), Russian still omits есть in the present:

Мой брат врач. – My brother is a doctor.
(literally: My brother doctor.)

What tense is лежит? Is there a difference between “lies” and “is lying” in Russian?

Лежит is present tense, 3rd person singular of лежать (imperfective).

Russian does not have a special continuous tense like English “is lying.” The same present form covers:

Мой блокнот лежит на столе.
– My notebook lies on the table.
– My notebook is lying on the table.

If you want to stress that it’s happening right now, you add a time word:

Сейчас мой блокнот лежит на столе. – Right now my notebook is lying on the table.

Why is it на столе and not в столе? What’s the difference between на and в with places?

На and в both mean “in/on/at” depending on context, but:

на – usually on a surface or at an open area/event
- на столе – on the table
- на полу – on the floor
- на улице – outside, in the street
в – usually inside something, or in an enclosed space
- в столе – in the desk (inside the drawers)
- в комнате – in the room
- в сумке – in the bag

So:

Мой блокнот лежит на столе. – It is on top of the table.
Мой блокнот лежит в столе. – It is inside the desk (in a drawer).

What’s the difference between рядом с, возле, около, and у?

All can mean “near / next to,” but with slight nuances:

рядом с
- instrumental
- Very common in everyday speech.
- Focus on being next to, by the side of:
  рядом с компьютером – right beside the computer.
возле
- genitive
- Quite common, neutral:
  возле компьютера – near the computer.
около
- genitive
- “Near, around”:
  около компьютера – near the computer / around the computer.
у
- genitive
- Very frequent, often “by, at, at the side of”:
  у компьютера – by the computer / at the computer (could also imply someone is sitting at the computer).

In this sentence, рядом с компьютером nicely expresses “right next to the computer.” Replacing it with возле компьютера or около компьютера would still be natural and very close in meaning.

How do you pronounce this whole sentence? Where are the stress accents?

Stresses (´) and a simple pronunciation guide:

Мой – мой [moy] (like moy in “Moy”)
блокнот – блокнóт [blɐkˈnot] – stress on -нот
лежит – лежíт [lʲɪˈʐɨt] – stress on -жит
на – на [na]
столе – столé [stɐˈlʲe] – stress on -ле
рядом – р́ядом [ˈrʲadəm] – stress on ря-
с – с [s]
компьютером – компь́ютером [kɐmˈpʲjutʲɪrəm] – stress on -пьют-

Putting it all together (stressed vowels in caps for clarity):

МОЙ блокНОт лежИт на столЕ РЯдом с кампЬЮтером.