بين ما المدرب عم يشرح التعليمات، المنقذ جنب المسبح.

That is a very common question.

On its own, بين usually does mean between / among. But بين ما is a fixed expression in Levantine that means while or as.

So in this sentence, بين ما is not being used literally as between. It functions as a time connector:

• بين ما المدرب عم يشرح التعليمات...
  = while the coach is explaining the instructions...

You can think of بين ما as one chunk of meaning.

Yes, basically.

• بينما is the more standard written form.
• بين ما is a very common spoken Levantine way to say it.

So:

• بينما المدرب يشرح...
• بين ما المدرب عم يشرح...

Both can mean while the coach is explaining..., but بين ما sounds more colloquial and natural in everyday Levantine speech.

عم marks an action as ongoing, so it often corresponds to English is/are ...-ing.

• يشرح = he explains / he is explaining depending context
• عم يشرح = more clearly he is explaining

So:

• المدرب عم يشرح التعليمات
  = the coach is explaining the instructions

In Levantine, عم + imperfect verb is one of the main ways to express the present progressive.

Yes, but the nuance changes a little.

• عم يشرح stresses that the action is happening right now
• بيشرح often sounds more like a general present or habitual action, though in some contexts it can also describe a current action

So:

• المدرب عم يشرح التعليمات = the coach is in the middle of explaining them now
• المدرب بيشرح التعليمات = the coach explains the instructions / may be explaining them

For this sentence, عم يشرح is the clearer choice if you want while he is explaining.

In spoken Levantine, subject + predicate order is very common, especially with عم constructions.

So المدرب عم يشرح is very natural:

• المدرب = the coach
• عم يشرح = is explaining

English speakers often expect a verb-first pattern because they may have learned Standard Arabic patterns, but colloquial Levantine very often uses:

• noun + verb phrase
• noun + adjective
• noun + location phrase

So this sentence sounds normal as spoken Levantine.

Because in Arabic, present-tense to be is usually omitted.

So:

• المنقذ جنب المسبح
  literally: the lifeguard next to the pool
  naturally means: the lifeguard is next to the pool

This is called a nominal sentence.

In the present tense, Arabic normally does not say is/am/are in these cases. But in the past or future, you would use a verb such as كان.

For example:

• المنقذ كان جنب المسبح = the lifeguard was next to the pool

Yes, absolutely.

In Arabic, a sentence does not always need an explicit verb in the present tense. A noun plus a predicate can make a complete sentence.

Here:

• المنقذ = the lifeguard
• جنب المسبح = next to the pool

Together, they make a full statement:

• The lifeguard is next to the pool

So this is not incomplete Arabic. It is a normal present-tense structure.

جنب means beside, next to, or by.

So:

• جنب المسبح = next to the pool / by the pool

It is very common in Levantine for location.

You will also hear it with pronouns:

• جنبي = next to me
• جنبك = next to you
• جنبه = next to him

So it is a very useful everyday word.

Because الـ is the Arabic definite article, meaning the.

In this sentence:

• المدرب = the coach
• التعليمات = the instructions
• المنقذ = the lifeguard
• المسبح = the pool

Arabic often uses definiteness in places where English might or might not, depending on context. Here, the sentence is talking about specific people and things in a known situation, so the definite article makes sense.

Yes. تعليمات means instructions, and it is grammatically plural.

That matches English fairly well, because English also commonly uses instructions as a plural noun.

So:

• التعليمات = the instructions

You may notice that Arabic often uses plural forms for sets of directions, rules, or instructions in the same way English does.

A simple broad pronunciation guide would be:

bēn ma l-mudarrib ʿam yishraḥ it-taʿlīmāt, il-munqiz janb il-masbaḥ

A few notes:

• عم is pronounced roughly ʿam
• يشرح is roughly yishraḥ
• جنب is roughly janb
• المسبح is roughly il-masbaḥ

One small dialect note: the word المنقذ may sound a bit different depending on how the speaker pronounces ق. Some speakers keep a q-like sound, while others use a glottal stop. So you may hear something like:

• il-munqiz
• or il-munʔiz

Both reflect dialect variation.

Yes, definitely.

• المنقذ جنب المسبح = the lifeguard is by the pool
• المنقذ واقف جنب المسبح = the lifeguard is standing by the pool

The original sentence is perfectly fine, but it focuses on location. Adding واقف makes the image more specific.

Arabic often leaves things slightly more general if the context already makes them clear.