المكتب رمادي.

Usually as el-maktab ramaadi.

A rough pronunciation guide:

• el- = the Egyptian pronunciation of الـ
• maktab = desk
• ramaadi = gray

Approximate stress:

• el-MAK-tab ra-MAA-di

الـ is the definite article, so it makes مكتب into the desk rather than just a desk or desk.

In Egyptian Arabic, this article is usually pronounced el-, so:

• مكتب = maktab
• المكتب = el-maktab

Because in Egyptian Arabic, the definite article is normally pronounced el- in everyday speech.

So even though learners often first see al- in formal transliteration, an Egyptian speaker would usually say:

• el-maktab

Also, the l is clearly pronounced here because م is a moon letter. With sun letters, that l sound would disappear into the next consonant.

In Arabic, present-tense sentences like The desk is gray usually do not use a separate word for is.

So:

• المكتب رمادي literally looks like the desk gray
• but it naturally means The desk is gray

This is very normal in both Egyptian Arabic and Standard Arabic.

If you wanted another tense, then a verb can appear:

• المكتب كان رمادي = The desk was gray

Because here رمادي is the predicate of the sentence, not an adjective directly attached to the noun inside one noun phrase.

So:

• المكتب رمادي = The desk is gray

But if you want the gray desk, where the adjective is directly describing the noun inside the same phrase, then both become definite:

• المكتب الرمادي = the gray desk

That difference is very important:

• المكتب رمادي = full sentence
• المكتب الرمادي = noun phrase

Yes. This is a very normal Arabic pattern.

The structure is:

• المكتب = subject
• رمادي = predicate adjective

So the pattern is basically:

• [noun] + [adjective/predicate]

In English, we need is:

• The desk is gray

In Arabic, the present tense usually just puts the two parts together:

• المكتب رمادي

They look similar, but they mean different things:

• المكتب رمادي = The desk is gray
• المكتب الرمادي = the gray desk

In the first one, رمادي is part of a complete sentence. In the second one, الرمادي is just an adjective modifying المكتب.

A useful shortcut:

• if there is no ال on the adjective after a definite noun, it is often the predicate
• if both have ال, it is often a noun + adjective phrase

Yes. مكتب can mean desk or office, depending on context.

So:

• المكتب رمادي could theoretically mean The desk is gray or The office is gray

Context tells you which meaning is intended. If your lesson already gives the meaning as desk, then that is the reading you should use here.

Yes. Adjectives in Arabic usually agree with the noun.

For a feminine singular noun, رمادي becomes رمادية.

Example:

• الشنطة رمادية = The bag is gray
• العربية رمادية = The car is gray

So the sentence changes depending on the gender of the noun.

Because this is normal for everyday writing and for Egyptian Arabic.

In fully vocalized Standard Arabic, you might see something like:

• المكتبُ رماديٌّ

But in real-world writing:

• those case endings are usually not written
• and in Egyptian Arabic, they are not pronounced in speech anyway

So المكتب رمادي is exactly the kind of spelling you should expect to see.