Telefon je pored knjige na stolu.

Je is the 3rd person singular present form of biti (to be), so it means is.

In Telefon je pored knjige na stolu, it links the subject telefon with the location phrase, just like is in English:

• Telefon je... = The phone is...

Also, je is a clitic in Serbian, which means it normally goes in second position in the sentence. That is why it comes right after Telefon.

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

The dictionary form is also telefon, so here the noun does not change:

• telefon = phone
• Telefon je... = The phone is...

Because the preposition pored requires the genitive case.

The basic form is:

• knjiga = book

But after pored (beside / next to), it becomes:

• pored knjige = beside the book

So:

• knjiga = nominative
• knjige = genitive singular

Pored usually means beside, next to, or by.

It is followed by the genitive case:

• pored knjige = beside the book
• pored stola = beside the table
• pored kuće = beside the house

So in this sentence, pored knjige means next to the book.

Because na can take different cases depending on the meaning.

Here it expresses location (on the table), so it uses the locative case:

• na stolu = on the table

If it expressed movement toward something, it would use the accusative:

• Stavljam telefon na sto. = I am putting the phone onto the table.

So:

• na stolu = location
• na sto = movement onto

The noun sto (table) changes form in oblique cases.

Its nominative form is:

• sto

But after na in a location meaning, Serbian uses the locative singular, which is:

• stolu

So:

• sto = table
• na stolu = on the table

This is just part of the noun’s declension pattern.

This sentence can be understood a little broadly, just like in English.

The most natural reading is:

• The phone is beside the book, on the table.

That usually suggests the whole situation is on the table. In practice, both the phone and the book are understood as being there unless context says otherwise.

If you wanted to be more explicit, Serbian could rephrase it:

• Telefon je na stolu, pored knjige.
• Telefon je pored knjige koja je na stolu. = The phone is beside the book that is on the table.

So the original sentence is normal, but context helps.

Yes. Serbian word order is fairly flexible, and changing it often changes the focus or emphasis, not the basic meaning.

For example:

• Telefon je pored knjige na stolu.
• Telefon je na stolu pored knjige.
• Na stolu je telefon pored knjige.

These are all possible, though some may sound more natural in a given context.

What usually stays important is:

• je tends to stay in second position
• case endings show the relationships between words

Serbian does not have articles like the or a/an.

So:

• telefon can mean a phone or the phone
• knjige can mean of a book or of the book, depending on context

Serbian usually relies on:

• context
• word order
• intonation
• sometimes demonstratives like taj (that) or ovaj (this) if needed

So Telefon je pored knjige na stolu naturally translates with the in English, even though Serbian does not say it.

Yes. That is a good natural translation.

Depending on context, English and Serbian both allow a slight ambiguity:

• the phone is next to the book, and the scene is on the table
• or the phone is next to the book that is on the table

In normal usage, people usually understand the intended meaning from context.