Я включила блендер, а потом положила пакетик специй рядом с плитой.

Because both verbs are in the past tense feminine singular.

In Russian past tense, the verb agrees with the subject in gender and number:

• включил / положил = masculine
• включила / положила = feminine
• включило / положило = neuter
• включили / положили = plural

So Я включила ... положила ... tells you the speaker is female.

Because блендер is the direct object of включила, so it should be in the accusative case. But for inanimate masculine nouns in the singular, the accusative form is usually the same as the nominative.

So:

• nominative: блендер
• accusative: блендер

That is why the form does not change.

Because after a word like пакетик (“little packet,” “sachet”), Russian normally uses the thing inside in the genitive case.

So:

• пакетик чего? = “a packet of what?”
• answer: специй = “of spices”

Here специй is the genitive plural form of специи.

This is very common in Russian:

• чашка чая = a cup of tea
• бутылка воды = a bottle of water
• пакетик специй = a packet of spices

Пакетик is a diminutive form of пакет. In this sentence it usually means a small packet, little packet, or sachet.

Russian uses diminutives very often, and they do not always sound especially “cute” in English. Sometimes they simply mean:

• small size
• a familiar everyday item
• a specific packaged unit

So пакетик специй is very natural Russian for something like a sachet / little packet of spices.

Because the expression рядом с (“next to,” “beside”) requires the instrumental case.

So:

• dictionary form: плита
• after с in this expression: плитой

This is a set pattern:

• рядом с домом = next to the house
• рядом с окном = next to the window
• рядом с плитой = next to the stove

So the important thing to remember is:

рядом с + instrumental

In this sentence, а потом is very natural and means something like and then / and after that.

Russian а is not always a strong contrast like English but. It can also link actions while gently marking a transition from one event to the next.

So:

• Я включила блендер, а потом... = “I turned on the blender, and then...”

You could also see и потом in some contexts, but а потом is extremely common when moving the story forward.

Because the sentence describes completed actions in sequence:

1. she turned on the blender
2. then she put the packet of spices next to the stove

The verbs are:

• включить → включила
• положить → положила

These are perfective verbs, which focus on the action as a completed whole.

If you used imperfective verbs, the meaning would shift:

• включала could suggest repeated action, process, or background action
• клала could suggest process or repeated action

Here the speaker is simply narrating finished events, so perfective is the natural choice.

Yes. Russian often omits subject pronouns when the meaning is already clear from the verb form or context.

So both are possible:

• Я включила блендер...
• Включила блендер...

Including Я can give:

• extra clarity
• emphasis
• a more explicit subject

In this sentence, Я is perfectly normal, but it is not strictly necessary.

Потом means then, afterward, or later.

Here it marks the next step in a sequence:

• включила блендер = turned on the blender
• а потом положила... = and then put...

It is a very common word for narration and everyday speech.

Not completely. Russian word order is more flexible than English word order, though different orders can sound more natural in different contexts.

The original sentence is neutral and natural:

• Я включила блендер, а потом положила пакетик специй рядом с плитой.

Other orders are possible, for example:

• Я включила блендер, а потом пакетик специй положила рядом с плитой.
• Пакетик специй я потом положила рядом с плитой.

These alternatives may add emphasis or sound more marked. For a learner, the original version is a very good standard pattern.

Literally, yes, с often means with, but in the expression рядом с you should understand the whole phrase as next to / beside.

So it is better not to translate word by word:

• рядом с плитой = next to the stove

This is one of those cases where the full expression matters more than the literal meaning of each single word.