اخي بالجامعة اليوم.

Because Arabic often leaves out the verb to be in the present tense.

So أخي بالجامعة اليوم literally looks like:

• أخي = my brother
• بالجامعة = at the university
• اليوم = today

But the natural English meaning is My brother is at the university today.

This is very normal in both Standard Arabic and spoken Levantine.
If you wanted the past or future, then Arabic would usually use an actual verb:

• أخي كان بالجامعة اليوم = My brother was at the university today
• أخي رح يكون بالجامعة اليوم = My brother will be at the university today

بالجامعة means at the university or in the university.

It is made of two parts:

• بـ = in / at
• الجامعة = the university

So:

• بـ + الجامعة = بالجامعة

In Levantine, بـ is very commonly used for location, so بالجامعة is a very natural way to say at the university.

This happens because بـ joins directly to the word الجامعة.

So:

• بـ + الجامعة becomes
• بالجامعة

The ا is not a separate extra word; it is just part of how the written form works when بـ attaches to الـ.

This is very common:

• بالبيت = at home / in the house
• بالمدرسة = at school
• بالسوق = at the market

أخي is pronounced roughly a-khee.

Breakdown:

• أخ = brother
• ـي = my

So أخي literally means my brother.

A few pronunciation notes:

• The خ sound is not like English k. It is a throaty sound, like the ch in German Bach or Scottish loch.
• The final ي here means my, so it gives the word the meaning my brother.

In careful pronunciation, أخي is something like ʾakhii.

In careful spelling, it is normally written أخي with a hamza on the alif.

However, in informal Arabic writing, people often leave hamzas out, especially in texting, quick notes, or casual online writing. So اخي is very common as an informal spelling.

So:

• أخي = more careful / standard spelling
• اخي = very common informal spelling

A learner should recognize both.

It is understandable, but أخي sounds a bit more formal or closer to Standard Arabic than everyday Levantine in many areas.

In spoken Levantine, people often say things like:

• أخوي بالجامعة اليوم = My brother is at the university today
• In some dialects, other forms may also appear

So the sentence is fine, but depending on the country or region, a more colloquial version may sound more natural in daily speech.

Still, learners will definitely hear and understand أخي.

Arabic often starts a sentence with the topic, especially in simple present-tense descriptions.

So أخي بالجامعة اليوم is structured like:

• My brother
  • at the university
    • today

This is a very normal Arabic pattern.

English needs My brother is at the university today, but Arabic can simply put the noun first and then describe it.

Yes. Arabic word order is flexible, and اليوم can often move without changing the basic meaning.

For example:

• أخي بالجامعة اليوم
• أخي اليوم بالجامعة
• اليوم أخي بالجامعة

All of these can mean My brother is at the university today, though the emphasis may feel slightly different.

• أخي بالجامعة اليوم = neutral, very natural
• أخي اليوم بالجامعة = a bit more emphasis on today
• اليوم أخي بالجامعة = stronger focus on today

Usually, yes. الجامعة normally means the university.

In some contexts, English speakers might translate it as college, depending on how people talk in that region or how the education system is being described. But the core meaning is university.

In Levantine pronunciation, it is often said more like il-jāmʕa in everyday speech.

Yes. Arabic can make a complete sentence with no verb in the present tense, as long as the meaning is clear.

So أخي بالجامعة اليوم is a complete sentence meaning:

My brother is at the university today.

Short nominal sentences like this are extremely common in Arabic.

A simple way to understand it is:

• أخي = the topic / subject: my brother
• بالجامعة = the location: at the university
• اليوم = the time expression: today

So the sentence gives information about my brother by saying where he is and when.

You can think of the pattern as:

[person] + [place] + [time]

This is a very useful pattern in Levantine:

• أنا بالبيت اليوم = I’m at home today
• أبي بالشغل هلأ = My father is at work now
• أختي بالمدرسة بكرا = My sister is at school tomorrow

Usually, no. In a sentence like this, adding هو is not necessary.

The natural basic sentence is:

• أخي بالجامعة اليوم

You might hear a pronoun added for emphasis in some situations, but the normal form does not need it.

So for a learner, the best default is:
do not add a separate word for is or he is in simple present sentences like this.

A rough Levantine-style pronunciation could be something like:

• akhii bil-jaamʕa il-yoom
• or in more colloquial speech, depending on region, akhoy bil-jaamʕa il-yoom

A few spoken details:

• الجامعة is often pronounced closer to il-jāmʕa
• اليوم may sound like il-yōm
• The exact pronunciation of my brother can vary by dialect

So the written sentence is clear, but the spoken form may sound a little different from a letter-by-letter reading.