الجرو صغير.

جرو means puppy.

The prefix الـ is the Arabic definite article, equivalent to the in English. So:

• جرو = a puppy / puppy
• الجرو = the puppy

In Levantine pronunciation, الـ is often said as il- rather than al-, so الجرو may sound like il-jirw or something close, depending on region.

In Arabic, especially in the present tense, you usually do not say a separate word for is / am / are.

So:

• الجرو صغير literally looks like the puppy small
• but it means The puppy is small

This is completely normal Arabic sentence structure.
If you wanted the past tense, then you would use a verb, for example:

• كان الجرو صغير = The puppy was small

This is one of the most important things to notice.

In الجرو صغير, صغير is the predicate of the sentence, meaning it tells you something about the puppy:

• الجرو صغير = The puppy is small

But in الجرو الصغير, الصغير is an adjective attached to the noun:

• الجرو الصغير = the small puppy

So:

• الجرو صغير = a full sentence
• الجرو الصغير = a noun phrase, not a complete sentence by itself

That is why صغير stays indefinite in your sentence.

A common Levantine-style pronunciation would be something like:

• il-jirw zghīr
• or in some areas, something closer to il-jarw zghīr

A few pronunciation notes:

• الـ is often pronounced il-
• ج in much of the Levant is pronounced like the j in judge
• صغير in Levantine is often pronounced zghīr in everyday speech

Exact pronunciation varies by country and city, but this is the general idea.

Yes. In Arabic, adjectives and predicate adjectives agree with the noun in things like:

• gender
• number

Here, الجرو is masculine singular, so صغير is also masculine singular.

If the noun were feminine, the adjective would usually change too. For example:

• القطة صغيرة = The cat is small

So agreement is very important in Arabic.

The spelling الجرو صغير is perfectly understandable and looks very close to Standard Arabic writing.

In spoken Levantine, people often use the same basic structure, but the pronunciation is dialectal. So you can think of it like this:

• the writing looks neutral / standard
• the pronunciation would sound Levantine

This is very common with Arabic teaching materials: the spelling may look standard, while the spoken form is dialectal.

Because ج is a moon letter, not a sun letter.

That means the ل in الـ is still pronounced. So:

• الجرو is pronounced with the l sound
• not with a doubled j

Compare:

• الجرو → the l is pronounced
• a sun-letter word like الشمس → the l is not pronounced separately

So in this sentence, the article stays clearly audible before ج.

For a beginner, the normal and safest order is:

• الجرو صغير

That is the straightforward way to say The puppy is small.

Arabic can sometimes put the predicate first for emphasis or style, but that is not the neutral beginner pattern here. So stick with:

• subject first: الجرو
• description second: صغير

In full Standard Arabic with case endings, it would be:

• الجَرْوُ صَغيرٌ

That shows:

• الجروُ is nominative
• صغيرٌ is also nominative as the predicate

But in Levantine, these case endings are not used in normal speech, and in everyday writing they are usually omitted. So الجرو صغير is what you will normally see.

A common Levantine way is:

• الجرو مو صغير
• or in some areas: الجرو مش صغير

Both mean:

• The puppy is not small

So the pattern is:

• الجرو صغير = The puppy is small
• الجرو مو صغير = The puppy is not small

Which negative word is more natural depends on the specific Levantine variety.

You would remove الـ from the noun:

• جرو صغير

But be careful: without context, جرو صغير is often more naturally understood as a small puppy, not necessarily a full sentence meaning a puppy is small.

That is because Arabic can interpret noun + adjective as a noun phrase very easily.

So:

• الجرو صغير clearly means The puppy is small
• جرو صغير often means a small puppy

This is another reason why definiteness matters so much in Arabic.