El rallador estaba junto al escurridor, y el batidor dentro del cajón de la cocina.

Estaba is the imperfect form of estar, and it is used here to describe where things were located as background information.

In sentences like this, Spanish often uses the imperfect for:

• descriptions
• settings
• the position of things at a certain moment

So El rallador estaba junto al escurridor means something like The grater was next to the colander/drainer, describing the scene.

Estuvo would sound more like a completed event or a temporary state viewed as a whole, which is not the usual choice for simply describing where objects were.

Spanish often omits repeated words when they are easy to understand from the previous part of the sentence.

So:

• El rallador estaba junto al escurridor, y el batidor dentro del cajón de la cocina.

really means:

• El rallador estaba junto al escurridor, y el batidor estaba dentro del cajón de la cocina.

The second estaba is left out because it would be repetitive. This is very natural in both Spanish and English:

• The grater was next to the drainer, and the whisk inside the kitchen drawer.

Even if English often prefers repeating was, Spanish is very comfortable leaving it implied.

Because a + el contracts to al.

So:

• junto a el escurridor → incorrect
• junto al escurridor → correct

This contraction happens whenever a is followed by the masculine singular article el.

Compare:

• Voy al mercado = I’m going to the market
• Está junto al escurridor = It is next to the drainer

The only major exception is when el is part of a proper name, such as a El Escorial.

Because de + el contracts to del.

So:

• dentro de el cajón → incorrect
• dentro del cajón → correct

This is the same kind of contraction as al:

• a + el = al
• de + el = del

Here, dentro del cajón means inside the drawer.

Yes—dentro is normally used with de.

What is happening here is:

• dentro de + el cajón
• de + el becomes del
• so you get dentro del cajón

So dentro del cajón is really just the contracted form of dentro de el cajón.

You may also hear:

• dentro de la caja
• dentro del armario
• dentro del cajón

All are normal.

Junto a means next to, beside, or up against.

In many contexts, it is very similar to al lado de:

• junto al escurridor
• al lado del escurridor

Both can mean next to the drainer.

A small difference in feel:

• junto a can sound a little more direct or physical
• al lado de is often the most neutral everyday way to say next to

In this sentence, either would work naturally.

They are all kitchen tools:

• rallador = grater
• escurridor = usually drainer, dish rack, or sometimes colander, depending on context
• batidor = usually whisk or beater

These nouns often come from verbs:

• rallar = to grate → rallador
• escurrir = to drain → escurridor
• batir = to beat/whisk → batidor

That pattern is very common in Spanish.

Spanish uses definite articles much more often than English.

So Spanish says:

• El rallador
• el escurridor
• el batidor
• el cajón
• la cocina

where English might sometimes say:

• the grater
• the drainer
• the whisk

or in some contexts just:

• grater
• whisk

In this sentence, the articles suggest we are talking about specific objects already identifiable in the situation.

De la cocina specifies which drawer we mean.

• el cajón = the drawer
• el cajón de la cocina = the kitchen drawer or the drawer in the kitchen

Spanish often uses de + noun where English may use a noun as an adjective.

Compare:

• la puerta de la casa = the house door
• la mesa del comedor = the dining-room table
• el cajón de la cocina = the kitchen drawer

So de la cocina adds useful detail.

Literally, it is of the kitchen, but in natural English it often corresponds to:

• the kitchen drawer
• the drawer in the kitchen

Spanish de can express several relationships, including:

• belonging
• location
• type
• association

Here, the most natural understanding is simply that it is the drawer associated with the kitchen.

The comma helps separate two parallel parts of the sentence:

• El rallador estaba junto al escurridor
• y el batidor dentro del cajón de la cocina

It is not always required before y, but writers may use it when:

• the sentence is a bit longer
• there is a change of structure
• they want a clearer pause

So the comma is not strange here. It helps readability.

Yes. Both are possible, but they are not exactly identical in feel.

• en el cajón = in the drawer
• dentro del cajón = inside the drawer

Dentro de stresses the idea of being inside more clearly.
En is more general and very common.

So:

• El batidor estaba en el cajón de la cocina = perfectly natural
• El batidor estaba dentro del cajón de la cocina = also natural, with a slightly stronger sense of physical interior location

The sentence uses a very normal Spanish order:

• subject + verb + place
• El rallador estaba junto al escurridor

Then the second part omits the repeated verb:

• y el batidor dentro del cajón de la cocina

You could change the order for emphasis, for example:

• Junto al escurridor estaba el rallador
• Dentro del cajón de la cocina estaba el batidor

Those versions are grammatically correct, but they sound more marked or literary. The original is the most neutral and straightforward.

Because those nouns are grammatically masculine in Spanish.

A useful clue is the ending:

• many nouns ending in -dor are masculine
  • el rallador
  • el escurridor
  • el batidor
• cajón also happens to be masculine

But remember: grammatical gender does not mean the object is male. It just affects:

• the article: el
• adjectives that agree with it

For example:

• el cajón grande
• el batidor metálico