الدوام يبدأ الآن.

A careful full pronunciation in MSA is:

ad-dawāmu yabdaʾu al-ʾāna

In normal pause, many speakers would say something closer to:

ad-dawām yabdaʾ al-ʾān

A few pronunciation notes:

• الدوام is pronounced ad-dawām, not al-dawām, because د is a sun letter, so the l of الـ assimilates.
• يبدأ contains a hamza at the end of the root, so you hear a little catch in the throat: yabdaʾ.
• الآن keeps the l sound: al-ʾān.

الدوام can mean different but related things depending on context, such as:

• work
• the workday
• duty hours
• office hours
• school attendance / school day / classes

So in real life, the sentence could mean things like:

• Work starts now
• The shift starts now
• Classes start now
• Office hours begin now

The exact meaning depends on the situation.

الـ is the Arabic definite article, equivalent to the in English.

So:

• دوام = work / duty / attendance
• الدوام = the work / the shift / the school day

In this sentence, the noun is definite, so it refers to a specific work period or school period that both speaker and listener know about.

That is simply how the word الآن is normally formed in Arabic. It means now, and the الـ is part of the standard word.

So although الـ often means the, in الآن you should usually just learn the whole word as:

الآن = now

It is not usually helpful to translate it literally as the now.

Both are possible in Arabic.

• الدوام يبدأ الآن starts with the noun, so it feels like As for the workday, it starts now or The workday is starting now.
• يبدأ الدوام الآن starts with the verb, so it is a more straightforward The workday starts now / Now the workday starts.

In grammar terms:

• الدوام يبدأ الآن is a nominal sentence with a noun first.
• يبدأ الدوام الآن is a verbal sentence with a verb first.

Both are natural; the difference is mostly one of style and focus.

Because الدوام is a singular masculine noun, the verb agrees with it.

• يبدأ = he starts / it starts
• Here it means it starts, referring to الدوام

If the subject were feminine, you would use تبدأ instead. For example:

• الحصة تبدأ الآن = The class/session starts now

يبدأ is in the imperfect verb form, which often corresponds to the present or future in English.

Depending on context, it can mean:

• starts
• is starting
• will start

Here, because of الآن (now), it is understood as a present-time meaning:

• starts now
• is starting now

So Arabic does not need a separate form exactly like English is starting here.

The verb comes from the root:

ب د أ

This root is connected with the idea of beginning or starting.

The basic past-tense form is:

بدأ = he began / he started

The imperfect form here is:

يبدأ = he begins / it begins / it starts

So:

• بدأ = past
• يبدأ = present/imperfect

The final hamza is part of the root, which is why it stays in the word.

Arabic often does not use a present-tense verb equivalent to English is/am/are in the same way English does.

Also, English uses be + -ing for the progressive, as in is starting, but Arabic can often express that idea with just the imperfect verb:

• يبدأ الآن = starts now / is starting now

So Arabic does not need an extra word meaning is here.

الآن is an adverb of time. It tells you when the action happens:

• يبدأ الآن = starts now

It can also move for emphasis. For example:

• الآن يبدأ الدوام = Now the workday begins

So its function is to locate the action in the present moment.

Yes. In fully vocalized formal Arabic, the sentence would typically be:

الدوامُ يبدأُ الآنَ

Those final vowels are the case and mood endings:

• الدوامُ: nominative
• يبدأُ: indicative
• الآنَ: accusative adverbial form

In normal everyday writing, these short vowels are usually omitted, so you just see:

الدوام يبدأ الآن

Learners should know the endings exist, even though they are often not written.

This is because of the difference between sun letters and moon letters.

• In الدوام, the next letter is د, which is a sun letter. So the l in الـ assimilates, giving ad-dawām.
• In الآن, the next sound is hamza, which does not cause assimilation, so the l is pronounced: al-ʾān.

This is a very common pronunciation rule in Arabic and worth memorizing early.