Этот предмет лежит на столе рядом с телефоном.

Because этот has to agree with предмет in gender, number, and case.

• предмет is masculine
• singular
• nominative case here, because it is the subject of the sentence

So the correct form is:

• этот предмет = this object/item

Compare:

• этот стол = this table
• эта книга = this book
• это окно = this window
• эти вещи = these things

Learners often notice это and wonder why it is not used here. Это can mean this/it is, but before a noun you usually need the agreeing form like этот / эта / это / эти.

Предмет is in the nominative case because it is the subject of the sentence — the thing that is doing the action/state.

In this sentence:

• Этот предмет = the subject
• лежит = is lying
• на столе рядом с телефоном = location

So the structure is basically:

• This object
  • is lying
    • on the table next to the phone

Russian often uses different verbs depending on an object's position.

• лежать / лежит = to lie, to be lying
• стоять / стоит = to stand, to be standing
• висеть / висит = to hang, to be hanging

So лежит suggests that the object is in a lying/horizontal/resting position on the table.

This is different from English, where we often just say is:

• English: The object is on the table
• Russian: more naturally Предмет лежит на столе

If the object were upright, Russian might use стоит instead.

Yes, but the meaning and style are slightly different.

• лежит = specifically describes position: is lying
• находится = is located / is situated, more neutral and less visual

So:

• Этот предмет лежит на столе рядом с телефоном.
  = The object is lying on the table next to the phone.

• Этот предмет находится на столе рядом с телефоном.
  = The object is located on the table next to the phone.

The first sounds more natural if you are describing what you see. The second is more neutral or formal.

Because Russian uses different cases after на depending on whether you mean:

• location: where something is
• motion toward a place: where something is going

Here, the object is already located on the table, so Russian uses the prepositional case:

• на столе = on the table

If there were movement onto the table, you would use the accusative:

• положить на стол = to put onto the table

So:

• лежит на столе = is lying on the table
• кладёт на стол = puts onto the table

Столе is the prepositional singular form of стол.

Dictionary form:

• стол = table

After на when talking about location, you often use the prepositional case:

• на столе = on the table

This pattern is very common:

• в доме = in the house
• на столе = on the table
• в городе = in the city

So стол → столе is just the regular prepositional singular form.

Рядом с means next to / beside / near.

It is a fixed expression:

• рядом = nearby / beside
• с = with

But together, рядом с functions like next to in English.

Examples:

• рядом с домом = next to the house
• рядом с окном = next to the window
• рядом с телефоном = next to the phone

You should learn рядом с as a unit, because it regularly requires the noun after it to be in the instrumental case.

Because рядом с requires the instrumental case.

The basic noun is:

• телефон = phone

In the instrumental singular, it becomes:

• телефоном

So:

• рядом с телефоном = next to the phone

This is not the ordinary meaning of с as with in every situation; here it is part of the expression рядом с.

Other examples of instrumental after с:

• с другом = with a friend
• с машиной = with a car
• рядом с домом = next to the house

The ending -ом is a very common ending for masculine nouns in the instrumental singular.

So:

• телефон → телефоном
• стол → столом
• дом → домом

In this sentence, телефоном is instrumental because of рядом с.

A useful shortcut: if you see рядом с + noun, expect that noun to be in the instrumental case.

No, Russian word order is much more flexible than English word order, although some orders sound more neutral than others.

The original sentence:

• Этот предмет лежит на столе рядом с телефоном.

This is a neutral, natural order.

You could also hear variations like:

• На столе рядом с телефоном лежит этот предмет.
• Рядом с телефоном этот предмет лежит на столе.

These versions shift the emphasis:

• starting with на столе emphasizes the location
• starting with рядом с телефоном emphasizes what it is next to

Even though the word order can change, the cases show the grammatical roles.

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

So Russian often leaves that idea to context.

• предмет can mean an object, the object, or just object
• телефон can mean a phone or the phone

In this sentence, этот already makes предмет specific:

• этот предмет = this object

But телефоном could mean:

• next to a phone
• next to the phone

The context tells you which one is meant.

Usually, yes. Этот means this, and it typically points to something relatively close in the situation or in the speaker’s mind.

Contrast:

• этот = this
• тот = that

So:

• этот предмет = this object
• тот предмет = that object

In real speech, though, the exact idea of physical distance is not always strict. Sometimes этот just means the one I’m referring to now.

Yes, предмет is a normal word, but it is a bit general.

It can mean:

• object
• item
• thing
• subject/topic in some other contexts

In this sentence, it means a physical object/item.

Depending on context, a Russian speaker might also use a more specific noun if they know what it is:

• книга = book
• ключ = key
• пульт = remote control

But предмет is perfectly correct if the speaker is being general.

The main stresses are:

• Э́тот
• предме́т
• лежи́т
• на столе́
• ря́дом
• с телефо́ном

So one natural pronunciation is:

Э́тот предме́т лежи́т на столе́ ря́дом с телефо́ном.

Stress matters in Russian, so it is good to learn words together with their stress when possible.