Learn Russian: Вот книга и газета. - Here are the book and the newspaper.

In Russian, the present tense forms of the verb "to be" (like "am", "is", and "are") are almost always skipped. You just say the subjects (книга и газета) right after the pointing word (вот).

Where are the words for "the"?

Russian doesn't have articles like "a", "an", or "the". Depending on the context, книга can mean "a book" or "the book". Here, because we are specifically pointing them out with вот, it translates most naturally into English using "the".

Why use вот for "here" instead of здесь?

Вот is used when you are pointing something out or presenting it, similar to saying "Here is..." or "Here you go!". Здесь refers strictly to a physical location, like answering the question "Where are you?". Since we are presenting the book and newspaper to the listener, вот is the correct choice.

Does вот change because we are pointing out two things instead of one?

No, вот stays exactly the same whether you are pointing out one single thing or multiple things. It does not have a plural form.