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La lámpara está encima de la mesa.

La lámpara está encima de la mesa.
The lamp is on top of the table.
From Lesson 74:Prepositions of place (encima de, debajo de)·Spanish (Spain)

Questions & Answers about La lámpara está encima de la mesa.

Why do we need the word de after encima?
When you specify what the lamp is on top of, you must use de to connect the two things. If you just wanted to say "The lamp is on top" without mentioning the table, you would drop the de and just say La lámpara está encima.
Why is the verb está used instead of es?
We use está (from the verb estar) because we are talking about physical location. Even though the table and lamp do not usually move, Spanish always uses estar to say where something is located.
Could I use sobre instead of encima de in this sentence?
Yes, you could say La lámpara está sobre la mesa. Both encima de and sobre can mean "on" or "on top of," and they are often used interchangeably when talking about physical objects resting on surfaces.
What happens to de la if the object is masculine, like el escritorio (the desk)?
If the lamp was on top of a desk, de and el would combine to make the word del. The sentence would change to La lámpara está encima del escritorio. Here, because mesa is feminine, de and la stay as two separate words.

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