القفازات على الطاولة.

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

So القفازات على الطاولة literally looks like:

• the gloves
• on the table

But it means The gloves are on the table.

This is called a nominal sentence in Arabic. In the present tense, Arabic does not usually use a separate word for is / are / am.

Compare:

• القفازات على الطاولة = The gloves are on the table
• الكتاب جديد = The book is new

If you wanted the past tense, Arabic would use a verb:

• كانت القفازات على الطاولة = The gloves were on the table

القفازات means the gloves.

Breakdown:

• قفاز = glove
• قفازات = gloves
• الـ = the

So:

• قفازات = gloves
• القفازات = the gloves

The ending -ات is a very common plural ending in Arabic. Even though it is often called the sound feminine plural ending, it can also appear on words that are not feminine in meaning, as in قفازات.

No, not always. Arabic has several ways to form plurals.

One very common plural pattern is:

• singular: ـة / no ending
• plural: ات

For this word:

• قفاز = glove
• قفازات = gloves

But many Arabic plurals are irregular, often called broken plurals. So you cannot assume every noun will simply take -ات.

Examples:

• كتاب = book
• كتب = books
  not كتابات

So for learners, it is best to memorize the plural together with the singular.

على usually means on, upon, or sometimes over, depending on context.

In this sentence:

• على الطاولة = on the table

It is a preposition, and like English prepositions, its exact translation can vary a little by context.

Examples:

• على الكرسي = on the chair
• على الحائط = on the wall
• على الإنترنت = on the internet

A very important grammar point: على causes the following noun to be in the genitive case.

So with full case endings, this sentence is:

• القفازاتُ على الطاولةِ

Because ط is a sun letter.

When the definite article الـ comes before a sun letter, the l sound of ال is not pronounced. Instead, the next consonant is doubled.

So:

• written: الطاولة
• pronounced: aṭ-ṭāwilah / aṭ-ṭāwila

This is the same pattern as:

• الشمس → ash-shams
• الطالب → aṭ-ṭālib
• النور → an-nūr

By contrast, with a moon letter, the l is pronounced:

• القفازات → al-quffāzāt

So in your sentence:

• القفازات = al-quffāzāt
• الطاولة = aṭ-ṭāwilah

A careful pronunciation is:

al-quffāzātu ʿalā aṭ-ṭāwilati

If you pause at the end, it is often pronounced more like:

al-quffāzāt ʿalā aṭ-ṭāwilah

A few pronunciation notes:

• ق is a deep q sound, not an English k
• ع in على is a consonant that has no exact English equivalent
• ط is an emphatic t
• ā is a long vowel, like a stretched a

If you are learning without full case endings, you will often hear something close to:

al-quffāzāt ʿalā aṭ-ṭāwila

Because both nouns are definite in the English meaning:

• القفازات = the gloves
• الطاولة = the table

So the whole sentence means:

The gloves are on the table.

If you removed الـ, the meaning would change:

• قفازات على طاولة = gloves on a table or some gloves are on a table
• القفازات على طاولة = the gloves are on a table
• قفازات على الطاولة = gloves are on the table / some gloves are on the table

Arabic uses definiteness very systematically, so learners should pay close attention to الـ.

With full case endings, the sentence is:

القفازاتُ على الطاولةِ

Here is why:

• القفازاتُ gets ـُ because it is the subject/topic of the nominal sentence
• الطاولةِ gets ـِ because it comes after the preposition على

So:

• القفازاتُ = nominative
• الطاولةِ = genitive

In most everyday Arabic writing, these short vowels are not written, so you usually see:

القفازات على الطاولة

But knowing the underlying grammar is still useful.

Because it is definite.

Tanwīn usually appears on indefinite nouns, not definite ones. Since القفازات has الـ, it is definite, so it does not take tanwīn.

Compare:

• قفازاتٌ = gloves / some gloves
• القفازاتُ = the gloves

Likewise:

• طاولةٍ = a table (after a preposition, if indefinite)
• الطاولةِ = the table

So the lack of tanwīn here is because both nouns are definite.

Yes, طاولة is grammatically feminine.

A big clue is the ending ة (called tāʾ marbūṭa), which often marks feminine nouns.

So:

• طاولة = table
• الطاولة = the table

In pause, the ending is usually pronounced -a / -ah:

• ṭāwilah

But when grammatical endings are fully pronounced in connected speech, the ة behaves like a t sound before the case ending:

• الطاولةِ = aṭ-ṭāwilati

This is why learners may see the word written one way but hear slightly different pronunciations depending on the situation.

It is usually treated grammatically as a non-human plural, and that matters more than biological gender here.

In Arabic, non-human plurals are commonly treated like feminine singular when they are described by adjectives or referred to by pronouns.

For example, you would say:

• القفازات جديدة = The gloves are new

Notice that جديدة is feminine singular, not plural.

This is a very important rule in Arabic:

• human plurals usually agree as true plurals
• non-human plurals often take feminine singular agreement

So even though قفازات is plural in meaning, its agreement behavior is often feminine singular.

This is a nominal sentence made of:

1. المبتدأ — the topic/subject
   القفازات
2. a predicate giving information about it
   على الطاولة

So the structure is:

• القفازات = the thing being talked about
• على الطاولة = where they are

In English we need are, but Arabic can simply say:

• the gloves
• on the table

This is a very common pattern in Arabic for location:

• الكتاب على المكتب = The book is on the desk
• الولد في البيت = The boy is in the house
• المفاتيح تحت الكرسي = The keys are under the chair

Yes, but the basic sentence as given is the most straightforward for a beginner:

• القفازات على الطاولة

Arabic can also move elements around for emphasis or style. For example:

• على الطاولة القفازات

This can sound more marked, like:

• On the table are the gloves
• or with focus on the location

But for neutral, simple statements, the original order is the best one to learn first.

You would use the singular:

• القفاز على الطاولة

Breakdown:

• القفاز = the glove
• على الطاولة = on the table

So:

• القفاز على الطاولة = The glove is on the table
• القفازات على الطاولة = The gloves are on the table

This is a useful contrast for learning the singular and plural:

• قفاز = glove
• قفازات = gloves

Usually just like this:

القفازات على الطاولة

That is exactly how you normally see it in unvowelled text.

In careful grammar-based reading, it is:

القفازاتُ على الطاولةِ

But in normal print, books, signs, and most modern writing, the short vowel marks are omitted unless there is a special reason to include them.

So as a learner, it is good to know both:

• written as normally seen: القفازات على الطاولة
• fully analyzed form: القفازاتُ على الطاولةِ