الدفتر على المكتب جنب الكمبيوتر.

Because this is a normal present-tense nominal sentence in Arabic. In Levantine, you usually do not say a separate word for is/are in simple sentences like this.

So:

• الدفتر = the notebook
• على المكتب جنب الكمبيوتر = on the desk next to the computer

Together, that naturally means The notebook is on the desk next to the computer.

If you wanted the past, you would usually add a verb such as كان.

Here is the breakdown:

• الدفتر = the notebook
• على = on
• المكتب = the desk
• جنب = next to / beside
• الكمبيوتر = the computer

So the structure is basically:

• thing
  • location

ال is the Arabic definite article, meaning the.

In this sentence:

• الدفتر = the notebook
• المكتب = the desk
• الكمبيوتر = the computer

So Arabic adds ال directly onto the noun instead of using a separate word like English the.

If the nouns were indefinite, you would remove ال:

• دفتر = a notebook
• مكتب = a desk
• كمبيوتر = a computer

Because د is a sun letter. With sun letters, the ل of ال assimilates to the next consonant.

So الدفتر is pronounced more like:

• ed-daftar or id-daftar

not a careful al-daftar.

But with المكتب and الكمبيوتر, the ل is pronounced normally because م and ك are moon letters:

• el-maktab
• el-kombyūter

This is one reason Arabic spelling and pronunciation can look slightly different at first.

Not always in everyday Levantine speech. The written form is على, but in conversation it is often reduced to something like:

• ʿa
• ʿal

So على المكتب is often said more like:

• ʿal-maktab

This is very normal in Levantine.

جنب means next to, beside, or by the side of.

Literally, it is related to the idea of side, but in everyday Levantine it functions very commonly as a location word:

• جنب البيت = next to the house
• جنب الباب = next to the door
• جنب الكمبيوتر = next to the computer

So in this sentence, it helps specify the location more precisely.

It can mean either, depending on context.

• مكتب can mean desk
• مكتب can also mean office

But in this sentence, since the notebook is on it, the natural meaning is desk, not office.

So context tells you which meaning is intended.

The most natural reading is that it describes المكتب because it comes right after it:

• على المكتب جنب الكمبيوتر
• on the desk next to the computer

So the desk is next to the computer, and the notebook is on that desk.

In real conversation, context usually makes this clear. Arabic often relies on natural word grouping the same way English does.

Because this is Levantine Arabic, not fully formal MSA pronunciation.

In everyday Levantine speech, learners usually hear and use the nouns without MSA case endings such as:

• -u
• -a
• -i

So you simply get:

• الدفتر
• المكتب
• الكمبيوتر

This is one reason spoken Levantine often feels simpler than formal written Arabic in this area.

It is a loanword, borrowed from English, but it is completely normal in everyday Arabic. Speakers treat it like a regular noun, so it can still take the definite article:

• كمبيوتر = computer
• الكمبيوتر = the computer

This is very common in Levantine. Many modern objects are referred to with borrowed words that behave like ordinary Arabic nouns.