تبدأ العملية الآن.

تبدأ is the present/imperfect form of the verb بدأ, meaning to begin or to start.

In this sentence, تبدأ is:

• 3rd person
• feminine
• singular

So by itself, it can mean she begins, it begins, or it starts, depending on context.

Here, the subject is العملية, so the meaning is the process begins or the operation begins.

Because العملية is a grammatically feminine noun.

In Arabic, verbs must agree with their subjects in gender. Since العملية is feminine singular, the verb appears as تبدأ.

This does not mean the process is female in a real-world sense. It is just grammatical gender.

A useful clue is the ending ـة in العملية, which often marks a feminine noun.

Yes. تبدأ can also mean she begins.

Arabic often uses the same verb form for:

• she begins
• it begins for a feminine noun

So if you saw تبدأ alone, you would need context to know the subject.

In تبدأ العملية الآن, the noun العملية tells you that the subject is the process / operation.

Because Arabic commonly allows verb-subject-object order, especially in formal written Arabic.

So:

• تبدأ العملية الآن = The process begins now
• العملية تبدأ الآن = also correct, with more emphasis on the process

Both are natural, but the first one is a very standard verbal sentence pattern in MSA.

العملية can mean several related things, depending on context:

• the process
• the operation
• the procedure

In a technical, scientific, or general explanatory context, the process is often the best translation.

In a medical or military context, it could mean the operation.

So the exact English word depends on the situation, even though the Arabic form stays the same.

الآن means now.

In this sentence, it comes at the end:

• تبدأ العملية الآن = The process begins now

That is a very natural position for it, but Arabic word order is flexible, so you may also see:

• الآن تبدأ العملية = Now the process begins

Placing الآن first gives now a bit more emphasis.

Because الآن is basically a fixed word meaning now. You should learn it as a whole unit: الآن.

Even though it contains الـ, in practice learners usually just memorize الآن as the normal word for now in MSA.

So it is best not to think of it as a regular noun where you freely remove the article.

A careful MSA pronunciation is:

tabdaʾu al-ʿamaliyyatu al-ʾāna

A simpler learner-friendly version without full case endings is:

tabdaʾ al-ʿamaliyya al-ʾān

A few pronunciation points:

• تبدأ has a hamza sound near the end: tab-da-ʾ
• ع in العملية is the letter ʿayn, a throat sound with no exact English equivalent
• ال in العملية is fully pronounced because ع is a moon letter, not a sun letter

In fully inflected MSA, the sentence is:

تبدأُ العمليةُ الآنَ

Those endings show:

• تبدأُ: indicative present verb
• العمليةُ: nominative subject
• الآنَ: fixed adverb form

In everyday reading, news-style pronunciation, or less formal speech, these endings are often reduced or not fully pronounced.

So learners will often hear something closer to:

تبدأ العملية الآن

without clearly audible case endings.

Yes. The Arabic present tense can cover meanings that English expresses in different ways.

Depending on context, تبدأ العملية الآن could be understood as:

• The process begins now
• The process is beginning now
• The operation starts now

Arabic does not force the same distinction that English does between simple present and present progressive in every case. Context does that work.

Yes. You can say:

العملية تبدأ الآن

This still means The process begins now, but it puts more attention on the process itself.

So the difference is roughly:

• تبدأ العملية الآن = neutral verbal sentence
• العملية تبدأ الآن = more emphasis on the process

Both are correct MSA.