بينما يركب أبي الرف، أنظر إلى ميزان التسوية قرب السلم.

بينما means while or as, and it introduces an action happening at the same time as another action.

So the structure is basically:

• بينما يركب أبي الرف = while my father is installing/putting up the shelf
• أنظر إلى ميزان التسوية... = I look at the level...

It is a very common way to connect two simultaneous actions.

Because Arabic does not need a separate form like English is doing for the present progressive.

The imperfect verb in Arabic can mean:

• does
• is doing
• sometimes even will do, depending on context

Here, بينما makes it clear that the actions are ongoing at the same time, so English naturally translates them with is installing and am looking.

Good question. In unvoweled Arabic writing, يركب can represent more than one form.

It may be read as:

• يَركَبُ = he rides / mounts
• يُرَكِّبُ = he installs / assembles / puts up

In this sentence, because the object is الرف (the shelf), the intended meaning is almost certainly يُرَكِّبُ = he installs / puts up.

So the plain spelling does not show the full distinction; the context tells you which meaning is intended.

Because Arabic very often uses a verbal sentence, where the verb comes first.

So:

• يركب أبي الرف = literally installs my father the shelf
• natural English: my father installs/is installing the shelf

You could also say أبي يركب الرف, but that shifts the feel a bit toward emphasizing my father.

A useful point: when the subject comes after the verb, Arabic normally keeps the verb in the singular form, as it does here.

أبي is the noun أب (father) with the suffix -ي (my), so it means my father.

A learner often expects a different form because أب is one of the special nouns sometimes called the five nouns, but when it is attached to -ي (my), it appears as أبي in normal writing.

So here you can simply understand:

• أبي = my father

Yes, they are different.

• أَنظُرُ = I look / I am looking
• اُنظُرْ or written plainly انظر = look! (imperative)

So the hamza in أنظر helps show that this is the first-person imperfect verb, not a command.

This is a very useful distinction for learners.

Because with the meaning look at, the verb نظر usually takes the preposition إلى.

So:

• أنظر إلى الشيء = I look at the thing

This is just like an English verb that regularly goes with a certain preposition.

Without إلى, the verb can have other meanings in other contexts, such as consider, examine, or reflect on, depending on the construction.

It is an iḍāfa (construct phrase), which is one of the most important noun patterns in Arabic.

It is made of:

• ميزان = level / measuring instrument
• التسوية = leveling / alignment

Together, they mean something like:

• the leveling instrument
• more naturally: the spirit level

Important iḍāfa rule: the first noun usually does not take ال, even when the whole phrase is definite.

So Arabic says:

• ميزان التسوية

not:

• الميزان التسوية

Because قرب can function like near in Arabic.

So:

• قرب السلم = near the ladder / near the stairs

Grammatically, قرب is often treated as an adverbial noun, and the noun after it is in the genitive.

In fully vocalized Arabic, this part would be:

• قُرْبَ السُّلَّمِ

So Arabic does not need an extra word like to or of here.

It is the direct object, so it is in the accusative case.

In a fully vocalized version, you would write:

• الرَّفَّ

But in ordinary Arabic writing, short vowels and case endings are usually not written, so you just see:

• الرف

This is very common in normal printed Arabic.

One likely full vocalization is:

بَيْنَمَا يُرَكِّبُ أَبِي الرَّفَّ، أَنْظُرُ إِلَى مِيزَانِ التَّسْوِيَةِ قُرْبَ السُّلَّمِ.

A rough transliteration would be:

baynamā yurakkibu abī ar-raffa, anẓuru ilā mīzāni t-taswiyati qurba s-sullami

A few useful things to notice:

• يُرَكِّبُ shows the intended install/assemble meaning
• الرَّفَّ is accusative
• ميزانِ التسويةِ is genitive after إلى
• السُّلَّم here means ladder or stairs, depending on context