حطيت علبة اللبن على الرف يلي فوق الطاولة.

حطيت means I put or I placed.

It is:

• the verb حطّ = to put
• in the past tense
• with the 1st person singular ending, so حطّيت = I put

This is a very common everyday Levantine verb. In formal Arabic, you might see وضعت instead, but حطّيت is much more natural in speech.

A common Levantine pronunciation is:

ḥaṭṭēt or ḥaṭṭayt
(depending on region and speaker)

A few useful pronunciation notes:

• ح is a strong breathy h
• ط is an emphatic t
• the doubled consonant in حطّ should be held a little longer

So it is not a light hatet. The middle consonant is stronger and heavier.

علبة means container, box, carton, or package, depending on context.

In this sentence, علبة اللبن most naturally means:

• the container of yogurt/laban
• or the yogurt container/carton

Because English uses different words depending on the product, the best translation can change with context.

This is an iḍāfa structure, often called a construct phrase.

In علبة اللبن:

• علبة = container
• اللبن = the laban / the yogurt

Together, it means the container of the laban or more naturally the laban container.

Important rule:

• In an iḍāfa, the first noun usually does not take ال
• The definiteness comes from the second noun

So:

• علبة لبن = a container of laban / yogurt
• علبة اللبن = the container of the laban / the yogurt container

Even though علبة has no ال, the whole phrase can still be definite.

In Levantine, لبن usually does not mean regular milk.

Most often:

• لبن = yogurt, laban, or a cultured dairy product
• حليب = milk

So for a Levantine learner, علبة اللبن is more likely the yogurt/laban container than the milk carton.

This is a very common point of confusion for English speakers, because the word looks like it should mean milk, but in Levantine everyday usage, حليب is the normal word for milk.

يلي means that, which, or that is in a relative clause.

In this sentence:

• الرف يلي فوق الطاولة = the shelf that is above the table

A very important Levantine feature is that يلي is used for all genders and numbers. Unlike formal Arabic relative pronouns, it does not change the way الذي / التي / الذين do.

So يلي is a very useful all-purpose spoken relative word.

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

So:

• فوق الطاولة literally = above the table
• يلي فوق الطاولة literally = that above the table
• natural English = that is above the table

This is completely normal in Arabic.
So the sentence does not need a separate word for is.

It describes the shelf.

The structure is:

• على الرف
• يلي فوق الطاولة

Together:

• على الرف يلي فوق الطاولة
• on the shelf that is above the table

So the relative clause يلي فوق الطاولة attaches to الرف.

In other words, the sentence is talking about:

• a specific shelf
• and that shelf is the one above the table

Because they do two different jobs:

• على = on
• فوق = above / over

So the meaning is:

• حطيت علبة اللبن على الرف = I put the yogurt container on the shelf
• الرف يلي فوق الطاولة = the shelf that is above the table

So:

• the container is on the shelf
• the shelf is above the table

That is why both prepositions appear.

One natural pronunciation is:

ḥaṭṭēt ʿelbet il-laban ʿala r-raff yalli fōʔ iṭ-ṭāwle

You may also hear small regional differences, such as:

• yalli / يلي
• illi / اللي
• ṭāwle / طاولة
• ḥaṭṭayt instead of ḥaṭṭēt

A few pronunciation notes:

• الرف is often pronounced r-raff because ر is a sun letter, so the l of ال assimilates
• الطاولة is often pronounced iṭ-ṭāwle for the same reason, since ط is also a sun letter
• فوق is often pronounced fōʔ

Yes. In Levantine, both يلي and اللي are common spoken variants.

So you may hear:

• الرف يلي فوق الطاولة
• الرف اللي فوق الطاولة

They mean the same thing.

Which one is more common depends on:

• country
• city
• speaker
• personal habit

For a learner, it is good to recognize both, because both are very common in real speech.

It is definite.

That can feel strange at first, because the first noun علبة has no ال. But in Arabic iḍāfa, definiteness is determined by the second noun.

So:

• علبة لبن = a container of yogurt/laban
• علبة اللبن = the yogurt container / the container of the yogurt

So in this sentence, the speaker is talking about a specific container, not just any container.