القلم الجديد على الكرسي، مش جنب الكمبيوتر.

In Egyptian Arabic, the present-tense to be is usually not stated.

So instead of saying:

• The new pen is on the chair

Arabic simply says:

• القلم الجديد على الكرسي

Literally, that is closer to:

• the-new-pen on the-chair

This is completely normal. Arabic often uses this kind of verb-less sentence in the present tense.

If you wanted past or future, then Arabic would use other words:

• كان على الكرسي = it was on the chair
• هيبقى على الكرسي = it will be on the chair

Because in Arabic, adjectives normally come after the noun they describe.

So:

• القلم الجديد = the new pen

not:

• new pen with the adjective first, as in English

This is one of the most important word-order differences between English and Arabic.

A few similar examples:

• البيت الكبير = the big house
• الولد الصغير = the small boy
• العربية الجديدة = the new car

Because Arabic adjectives usually match the noun they describe in definiteness.

Here:

• القلم = the pen
• الجديد = the new

So القلم الجديد means the new pen.

Compare:

• قلم جديد = a new pen
• القلم الجديد = the new pen

This matching is very important in Arabic. If the noun is definite, the adjective is usually definite too.

A natural Egyptian pronunciation would be something like:

il-ʔalam il-gidīd ʿala l-kursi, miš gamb il-kombyūtar

A simpler learner-friendly version:

el-'alam el-gedeed 'ala l-korsi, mesh gamb el-computer

A few pronunciation notes:

• ق in Egyptian Arabic is often pronounced like a glottal stop ʔ, not like q in Modern Standard Arabic.
  • القلم sounds like il-ʔalam
• ج in Egyptian Arabic is usually pronounced g
  • الجديد sounds like il-gidīd
• مش is usually pronounced mish or mesh
• الـ often sounds like il- or el- in Egyptian speech

مش is the common Egyptian Arabic word for not.

In this sentence:

• مش جنب الكمبيوتر = not next to the computer

It is very common in everyday speech and is one of the main negation words in Egyptian Arabic.

For example:

• مش هنا = not here
• مش كبير = not big
• أنا مش تعبان = I’m not tired

So in your sentence, مش is negating the location phrase جنب الكمبيوتر.

Because this sentence is in Egyptian Arabic, not formal Modern Standard Arabic.

In everyday Egyptian speech, people normally say:

• مش

instead of the more formal:

• ليس

So:

• مش جنب الكمبيوتر is natural Egyptian Arabic
• ليس بجانب الكمبيوتر would sound formal or bookish

A learner should usually understand both, but if your goal is spoken Egyptian, مش is the one to focus on.

جنب means beside or next to.

So:

• جنب الكمبيوتر = next to the computer

Yes, there are other possible words or expressions, such as:

• بجانب = beside / next to
  More formal, closer to Modern Standard Arabic
• حد in some colloquial usage can mean by / next to
• ناحية can sometimes mean toward / near, depending on context

But جنب is very common and natural in Egyptian Arabic.

Because على means on.

So:

• على الكرسي = on the chair

That matches the physical idea that the pen is resting on top of the chair.

Compare with other prepositions:

• في الكرسي = in the chair
  Usually not the intended meaning here
• تحت الكرسي = under the chair
• جنب الكرسي = next to the chair

So على is the correct choice for on the chair.

Because loanwords in Arabic often behave like regular nouns.

So even though كمبيوتر comes from English, Egyptian Arabic can still make it definite by adding الـ:

• كمبيوتر = a computer / computer
• الكمبيوتر = the computer

This is very common with borrowed words. Arabic speakers do not treat them as foreign every time they use them; they usually fit them into normal Arabic grammar.

Yes, القلم الجديد is definite. It means the new pen, a specific pen.

If you want to say a new pen, you would say:

• قلم جديد

So the difference is:

• قلم جديد = a new pen
• القلم الجديد = the new pen

This is a very important contrast in Arabic.

The sentence has two main parts:

1. القلم الجديد على الكرسي
2. مش جنب الكمبيوتر

You can think of it like this:

• Topic / subject: القلم الجديد = the new pen
• Location: على الكرسي = on the chair
• Negative correction / contrast: مش جنب الكمبيوتر = not next to the computer

So the sentence is basically:

• The new pen is on the chair, not next to the computer.

This kind of structure is very common in Arabic: state where something is, then add a second phrase to say where it is not.

Because this is Egyptian Arabic, and spoken Egyptian normally does not use the case endings that learners often see in Modern Standard Arabic textbooks.

So in formal MSA, you might see something like:

• القلمُ الجديدُ
• على الكرسيِّ

But in Egyptian everyday speech, those endings are dropped.

That is why this sentence looks and sounds simpler than fully formal Arabic. This is normal for spoken dialects.

Not really. The comma mainly helps readability in writing.

In speech, the speaker would usually just make a short pause:

• القلم الجديد على الكرسي، مش جنب الكمبيوتر
• or simply القلم الجديد على الكرسي مش جنب الكمبيوتر

Both are understandable.

The comma shows that the second part is an added clarification or contrast:

• on the chair, not next to the computer