Learn Spanish (Spain): Lo veo encima del sofá.

While en just means "in" or "on" generally, encima de is more specific. It means exactly "on top of" or "above." It emphasizes the physical location of the object sitting right on the sofa's surface.

Where does the word del come from?

del is a mandatory contraction of the words de (of) and el (the). When you use encima de (on top of) right before el sofá (the sofa), the two words combine into del. You will never see "de el" written separately in Spanish!

Wait, shouldn't it be la sofá since it ends in an "a"?

No, sofá is an exception to the rule! Even though it ends in "a", it is a masculine noun (el sofá). That is why we use el (which combines with de to make del) instead of la.

Why is lo at the very beginning of the sentence?

In Spanish, direct object pronouns like lo (meaning "it" or "him") usually must go right before the conjugated verb. So, instead of following the English word order "I see it" (which would incorrectly be veo lo), you say "it I see" (lo veo).