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В моей сумке всегда есть маленькая аптечка, и я проверяю её перед поездкой.

В моей сумке всегда есть маленькая аптечка, и я проверяю её перед поездкой.
There is always a small first-aid kit in my bag, and I check it before a trip.

Breakdown of В моей сумке всегда есть маленькая аптечка, и я проверяю её перед поездкой.

я
I
мой
my
маленький
small
в
in
быть
to be
и
and
поездка
the trip
перед
before
всегда
always
сумка
the bag
её
it
проверять
to check
аптечка
the first-aid kit
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Questions & Answers about В моей сумке всегда есть маленькая аптечка, и я проверяю её перед поездкой.

Why does the sentence start with В моей сумке instead of Маленькая аптечка всегда есть в моей сумке?

Russian word order is flexible and often used to set the “scene” first. В моей сумке (in my bag) is a location frame, so putting it first is very natural: it tells the listener where we’re talking about, then what is there.
You can say Маленькая аптечка всегда есть в моей сумке, but it sounds more deliberate/emphatic and less neutral.

What case is в моей сумке, and why?

It’s the prepositional case (used after в when meaning “in/inside” a place):

  • сумка → в сумке
    And моей is also prepositional feminine singular to agree with сумке: в моей сумке.
Why is it есть here? In many Russian sentences “to be” is omitted.

In present tense, Russian often drops “to be” for “X is Y” (e.g., Она врач).
But есть is commonly used in existence/availability patterns meaning “there is/there are”:

  • В моей сумке есть аптечка = “There is a first-aid kit in my bag.”
    Without есть (В моей сумке всегда маленькая аптечка) it can sound more like “In my bag, a small first-aid kit is always (present)”—possible, but есть is the standard, neutral “there is” choice.
Why is маленькая аптечка in the nominative? Shouldn’t it be accusative since it’s “in” the bag?

In the construction в + location + есть + noun, the noun is typically nominative because it’s the thing that “exists” there:

  • В сумке есть аптечка (nominative: аптечка)
    Accusative after в is used for motion into something (кладу аптечку в сумку = “I put the kit into the bag”), but here there’s no motion—just location/existence.
Why is it маленькая аптечка (feminine), and how do I know the gender?
Аптечка ends in -а, which is typically feminine. Adjectives must agree in gender/number/case, so маленькая is feminine nominative singular to match аптечка.
Could I say У меня в сумке всегда есть маленькая аптечка? What changes?

Yes, and it’s very natural. It adds an explicit “I have” flavor:

  • У меня в сумке всегда есть маленькая аптечка = “I always have a small first-aid kit in my bag.”
    Your original В моей сумке… focuses slightly more on the bag as the location; у меня… foregrounds the owner/possessor.
Why is the pronoun её used, and what case is it?

Её refers to аптечка (feminine). In я проверяю её, it’s the direct object, so it’s accusative.
For the pronoun она, accusative is её. (Same form as genitive, but here the function is accusative.)

What’s the difference between writing её and ее?
Both are commonly seen. её with the dots is the standard spelling and helps distinguish pronunciation and meaning in some contexts. In casual typing, people often omit the dots and write ее, but in careful writing (especially learning materials), её is preferred.
Why is it проверяю (imperfective)? Could it be проверю?

Проверяю is imperfective, used for habitual/repeated actions: “I check it before a trip (as a routine).”
Проверю is perfective, meaning a single completed check, often future-oriented: “I will check it before the trip (this time).”
With всегда (“always”), imperfective проверяю fits best.

Why does перед поездкой use instrumental case?

The preposition перед (“before/in front of”) governs the instrumental case:

  • поездка → перед поездкой
    This is fixed government: you generally just learn перед + instrumental.
Does поездка mean “trip” or “ride”? Why not путешествие?

Поездка is a common, everyday word for a trip/journey, often not extremely long or “adventurous” (but it can be).
Путешествие sounds more like “travel” or a longer, more significant trip. The sentence is about a practical routine, so поездка is a natural choice.

Why is there a comma before и?

Because и is joining two independent clauses, each with its own subject/predicate: 1) В моей сумке всегда есть маленькая аптечка
2) я проверяю её перед поездкой
In Russian, a comma is typically required in this situation (like English “..., and I ...”).