Odvijač je pored alata.

Because pored requires the genitive case in Serbian.

The dictionary form is alat. After pored it changes to alata:

• alat = nominative
• alata = genitive

So pored alata literally means beside / next to the tool.

Odvijač is in the nominative singular because it is the subject of the sentence.

A simple breakdown is:

• odvijač = subject
• je = is
• pored alata = location phrase, next to the tool

So the structure is very similar to English: The screwdriver is next to the tool.

Pored usually means next to, beside, or by in a physical location sense.

In this sentence, it shows where the screwdriver is located.

A very important thing to remember is:

• pored
  • genitive

That is why you get pored alata, not pored alat.

Grammatically, alata can be genitive singular or genitive plural of alat.

So by form alone, pored alata could mean:

• next to the tool
• next to the tools

Only context tells you which one is meant.

This is very common in Serbian: sometimes one form can match more than one meaning.

Je is the 3rd person singular present form of biti, meaning to be.

So:

• je = is

In a normal full sentence like this, Serbian uses je just like English uses is:

• Odvijač je pored alata. = The screwdriver is next to the tool.

If you remove je, it can sound incomplete, like a note, label, or very elliptical style rather than a regular sentence.

Because Serbian does not have articles like English.

So odvijač can mean:

• a screwdriver
• the screwdriver

And alat / alata can mean:

• a tool
• the tool
• sometimes tools, depending on context

Serbian relies on context much more than English for this.

Yes. Serbian word order is more flexible than English word order.

This sentence can also appear as:

• Pored alata je odvijač.

That still means the same thing, but the emphasis changes slightly.
The original Odvijač je pored alata sounds neutral.
The version starting with Pored alata puts more focus on the location.

So in Serbian, word order often affects focus rather than basic meaning.

They are:

• odvijač = screwdriver
• biti = to be
• pored = next to / beside
• alat = tool

In the sentence, these appear as:

• odvijač = already in dictionary form
• je = a present-tense form of biti
• pored = unchanged preposition
• alata = case form of alat

A rough English-friendly pronunciation is:

• od-vee-yach

A few helpful details:

• j is pronounced like English y
• č sounds like ch in church

So odvijač is approximately od-vee-yach.

Likewise:

• alata ≈ ah-LAH-tah
• pored ≈ POH-red

These are only rough guides, but they are close enough for a beginner.

Yes. Although here it clearly means physical location, pored can also have other uses in Serbian, depending on context.

For example, it can sometimes mean something like besides or in addition to.

But in Odvijač je pored alata, the meaning is straightforwardly spatial: the screwdriver is located next to the tool or tools.