El dedal está junto al imperdible.

Yes. Both dedal and imperdible are masculine singular nouns, so they take el.

• el dedal
• el imperdible

There is no special reason you can always predict from meaning alone; noun gender in Spanish often just has to be learned with the word. A good habit is to memorize nouns with their article:

• el dedal
• el imperdible

That way, you learn the gender automatically.

Here, está is from estar, not ser.

Spanish often uses:

• ser for identity, definition, origin, etc.
• estar for location, condition, and temporary states

Since this sentence is talking about where something is located, Spanish uses estar:

• El dedal está junto al imperdible.

So even though English uses is for both ideas, Spanish chooses between es and está depending on the meaning.

The accent mark in está shows where the stress goes: es-TÁ.

It also helps distinguish forms in writing. In this case, it is simply the correct spelling of the él/ella/usted form of estar in the present tense:

• yo estoy
• tú estás
• él/ella/usted está

So the accent is not optional; it must be written.

Junto al means next to, beside, or right by, depending on context.

It comes from:

• junto a = next to / beside
• al = a + el

So:

• junto al imperdible = next to the safety pin

It usually suggests fairly close physical proximity.

Because in Spanish, a + el contracts to al.

So:

• junto a el imperdible ❌
• junto al imperdible ✅

This contraction is required when a is followed by the masculine singular article el.

A similar very common contraction is:

• de + el = del

Because junto normally goes with the preposition a when it means next to.

The full pattern is:

• junto a + noun

Examples:

• junto a la mesa
• junto al coche
• junto a mi hermano

So in your sentence:

• junto al imperdible = next to the safety pin

You cannot normally say junto el imperdible here.

Yes. That would be a very natural alternative.

• El dedal está junto al imperdible.
• El dedal está al lado del imperdible.

Both are correct and natural. In many situations, they mean almost the same thing.

The grammar changes because:

• al lado de is a fixed expression
• de + el = del

So:

• al lado del imperdible

No, that would sound incorrect in normal Spanish.

Spanish uses articles much more often than English. With ordinary countable nouns like these, you normally need the article:

• El dedal está junto al imperdible. ✅

Without the articles, it sounds unnatural and incomplete unless there is some very special context, such as labels, headings, or notes.

It can also be an adjective in other contexts.

As a noun, imperdible means safety pin.

As an adjective, imperdible can mean something like unmissable or not to be missed:

• una película imperdible = an unmissable film

In your sentence, it is clearly a noun, because it has the article el and refers to an object.

A simple pronunciation guide:

• dedal ≈ deh-DAL
• está ≈ es-TA
• junto ≈ HOON-toh
• imperdible ≈ eem-pehr-DEE-bleh

A few helpful details for Spain:

• j in junto is a strong throaty sound, like the ch in Scottish loch
• u in junto is pronounced
• stress falls on:
  • dedal
  • está
  • junto
  • imperdible

This is the most neutral and natural order:

• El dedal está junto al imperdible.

Spanish word order is somewhat flexible, but changing it can sound marked or stylistic. For a simple descriptive sentence, this standard order is best:

subject + verb + location

You might sometimes see something like:

• Junto al imperdible está el dedal.

That is grammatically correct, but it sounds more emphatic, as if highlighting the location first.

Yes, but usually with a slightly different structure or style.

For location before a noun, the most common pattern is:

• junto a
  • noun

Examples:

• junto a la ventana
• junto al imperdible

You may also see juntos or juntas meaning together:

• Están juntos. = They are together.

So in your sentence, junto a is the normal form.

It works perfectly well in general Spanish, not only in Spain.

That said, vocabulary can vary by region. Imperdible is widely understood, but in some places people may also use other terms for safety pin.

Still, the grammar of the sentence is standard everywhere:

• El dedal está junto al imperdible.

So a learner can safely use this structure in both Spain and Latin America.