Совок лежит в кладовке рядом с шваброй, и я всегда возвращаю его туда после уборки.

Because в can mean either in/into, and when it means in a place (location, not motion), Russian normally uses the prepositional case.

• dictionary form: кладовка
• prepositional singular: в кладовке

So:

• в кладовке = in the storage room / closet
• but в кладовку would mean into the storage room / closet (motion toward it)

That location-vs-motion contrast is very important in Russian.

Because the phrase рядом с means next to / beside, and it requires the instrumental case.

• dictionary form: швабра
• instrumental singular: шваброй

So:

• рядом с шваброй = next to the mop

This is a very common pattern:

• рядом с домом = next to the house
• рядом с окном = next to the window
• рядом с дверью = next to the door

They are different cases because they follow different grammatical patterns:

• в кладовке → prepositional case after в for location
• рядом с шваброй → instrumental case after рядом с

So the sentence shows two very common location structures:

1. в + prepositional = in/at a place
2. рядом с + instrumental = next to something

Russian often chooses verbs based on how an object is positioned.

• лежать = to lie
• стоять = to stand
• находиться = to be located

A совок (dustpan) is something Russian speakers often imagine as lying somewhere, so лежит sounds natural.

• Совок лежит... = The dustpan is lying...
• Совок находится... is possible, but more formal and less natural in everyday speech.

Using лежит is very typical, because Russian often pays attention to physical orientation in a way English usually does not.

Because его is the accusative form of он when it means him/it as a direct object.

Here, его refers to совок, which is a masculine noun.

• совок = masculine
• я возвращаю его = I return it

You cannot use он here, because он is the subject form (he/it), not the object form.

Compare:

• Он лежит в кладовке. = It is lying in the closet.
• Я возвращаю его туда. = I return it there.

Because Russian personal pronouns do not have a separate special form for it like English does.

Russian uses grammatical gender:

• masculine noun → он / его
• feminine noun → она / её
• neuter noun → оно / его

Since совок is masculine, it is referred to as:

• он = it
• его = it (object)

So although его can mean him, in this sentence it means it, because it refers to the masculine inanimate noun совок.

Because туда means to there / there (toward that place), while там means there (in that place).

Here the verb возвращаю involves movement back to a place, so Russian uses туда.

• там = there, at that location
• туда = to there, to that place

Compare:

• Совок там. = The dustpan is there.
• Я возвращаю его туда. = I return it there.

This is another important Russian distinction:

• location: где? → там
• direction: куда? → туда

Because the present tense in Russian is often used for habitual actions.

The word всегда (always) tells you this is a repeated routine, not something happening only right now.

So:

• я всегда возвращаю его туда после уборки
  = I always return it there after cleaning

This is like English present simple for habits:

• I always put it back
• She usually reads at night
• We often eat there

Yes, возвращаю is imperfective, and that fits because the sentence describes a repeated, habitual action.

• imperfective: возвращать / возвращаю
• perfective: вернуть / возвращу (or sometimes возвратить, more formal)

With всегда and a routine meaning, imperfective is the normal choice:

• Я всегда возвращаю его туда... = I always return it there...

A perfective form like верну would sound like I will return it once, in a specific future situation, not as a general habit.

Because the preposition после (after) requires the genitive case.

• dictionary form: уборка
• genitive singular: уборки

So:

• после уборки = after cleaning / after the cleaning

This is a very common rule:

• после работы = after work
• после урока = after the lesson
• после дождя = after the rain

Уборка is a noun meaning cleaning, tidying up, or house cleaning.

In this sentence, после уборки means after cleaning or after I finish cleaning.

It is a noun, not a verb form. Russian often uses nouns in places where English might prefer a verbal expression.

So instead of something like after cleaning up, Russian naturally says:

• после уборки

Yes, Russian word order is more flexible than English, because cases show grammatical relationships.

The given order is natural and neutral:

• Совок лежит в кладовке рядом с шваброй, и я всегда возвращаю его туда после уборки.

It starts with the thing being talked about, совок, and then says where it is.

But other orders are possible for emphasis, for example:

• В кладовке рядом с шваброй лежит совок.
  This puts more focus on the location first.

The basic meaning stays the same, but the emphasis changes.

Because и is joining two full clauses, each with its own subject and verb:

1. Совок лежит в кладовке рядом с шваброй
2. я всегда возвращаю его туда после уборки

In Russian, when и connects two independent clauses, a comma is normally used.

So the comma is not optional here in standard writing.

Because Russian does not have articles like English a/an and the.

So:

• совок can mean a dustpan or the dustpan
• кладовке can mean a closet, the closet, a storage room, or the storage room

The exact meaning is understood from context.

In this sentence, English naturally uses the:

• The dustpan is in the closet next to the mop...

But Russian simply does not need articles to say that.

Here совок means dustpan.

That is the ordinary concrete meaning in this sentence.

You may also encounter совок in other contexts with different meanings, including slang or historical/political uses, but none of those are relevant here. In this sentence, it is simply the cleaning tool.

It is also useful to remember that совок is masculine, which is why the pronoun later is его.

The main stresses are:

• совОк
• лежИт
• в кладОвке
• рЯдом
• со швАб-рой or с швАб-рой in connected speech
• всегдА
• возвращАю
• егО
• тудА
• после убОрки

Stress matters a lot in Russian, so it is worth learning words together with their stress patterns from the start.