قائمة المهام على الطاولة.

In Modern Standard Arabic, the verb to be is usually not written or spoken in the present tense in sentences like this.

So:

قائمة المهام على الطاولة
literally looks like: the task list on the table
but naturally means: The task list is on the table.

If you wanted a past or future meaning, Arabic would use a verb, for example:

• كانت قائمة المهام على الطاولة = The task list was on the table
• ستكون قائمة المهام على الطاولة = The task list will be on the table

This is a nominal sentence in Arabic, meaning it begins with a noun rather than a verb.

It can be divided like this:

• قائمة المهام = the topic / subject-like part
• على الطاولة = the predicate, telling you where it is

So the structure is:

[noun phrase] + [prepositional phrase]

Very common in Arabic for simple present-time statements.

Yes. قائمة المهام is an iḍāfa (إضافة), often called a construct phrase.

It means:

• قائمة = list
• المهام = the tasks

Together:

• قائمة المهام = the list of tasks / the task list

In Arabic, iḍāfa is a very common way to express of relationships.

Other examples:

• باب البيت = the door of the house
• كتاب الطالب = the student’s book / the book of the student

Because in an iḍāfa, the first noun normally does not take الـ.

So Arabic says:

• قائمة المهام = the task list

not:

• القائمة المهام ✘

The definiteness of the whole phrase is determined by the second noun. Since المهام is definite because it has الـ, the whole phrase قائمة المهام is definite.

So even without الـ on قائمة, the full phrase still means the task list, not just a task list.

المهام means the tasks. Its singular is:

• مهمة = task / mission

The plural مهام is a broken plural, which means the word changes its internal pattern instead of just adding a regular ending.

So:

• مهمة = one task
• مهام = tasks

That is very normal in Arabic. Many nouns form their plurals this way.

If fully vowelled in formal grammar, the sentence is:

قائمةُ المهامِ على الطاولةِ

Here is why:

• قائمةُ = nominative, because it is the opening noun of the nominal sentence
• المهامِ = genitive, because it is the second term of the iḍāfa
• الطاولةِ = genitive, because it comes after the preposition على

So the endings are:

• ـُ on قائمة
• ـِ on المهام
• ـِ on الطاولة

In normal everyday writing, these short vowels are usually omitted.

A useful pronunciation is:

qāʾimat al-mahām ʿalā aṭ-ṭāwila

A few important points:

• ق is a deep q sound, not an English k
• ء in قائمة is a glottal stop: qā-ʾi-
• The ة in قائمة is pronounced as t here because the word is in an iḍāfa: qāʾimat al-mahām
• الـ in المهام is pronounced normally because م is a moon letter
• الـ in الطاولة assimilates because ط is a sun letter, so it is pronounced aṭ-ṭāwila, not al-ṭāwila

This is because ة (tāʾ marbūṭa) changes its pronunciation depending on context.

• At the end of a phrase or when pausing, it is usually pronounced like -a or -ah
• When the word is followed grammatically in a connected way, especially in an iḍāfa, it is pronounced t

So:

• قائمة by itself: roughly qāʾima
• قائمة المهام: qāʾimat al-mahām

But الطاولة is at the end of the sentence, so in normal pause pronunciation it sounds like aṭ-ṭāwila, not aṭ-ṭāwilat.

على is the normal preposition for on, especially when something is physically on a surface.

So:

• على الطاولة = on the table

This is the most natural choice here.

Arabic also has other location words, but they are not exactly the same:

• فوق = above / over
• على = on, resting on a surface

So if the list is sitting on the table, على is the right preposition.

Yes, قائمة is grammatically feminine, and you can see that from the ة ending.

In this sentence, it does not change much visibly, because there is no adjective or verb agreeing with it. But if you added one, the feminine would matter.

For example:

• قائمة المهام جديدة = The task list is new

Here جديدة is feminine to match قائمة.

So yes, قائمة is feminine, and that affects agreement in larger sentences.

Yes, but the given order is the most straightforward for a learner.

Standard order here is:

قائمة المهام على الطاولة
= The task list is on the table

You may also see the prepositional phrase first for emphasis or style:

على الطاولة قائمة المهام

That can sound more like:

• On the table is the task list
• or it may emphasize the location

But for basic learning, the original order is the clearest and most neutral.

Normally, this sentence is understood as definite: The task list is on the table.

That is because قائمة المهام is a definite iḍāfa:

• المهام is definite
• so the whole phrase becomes definite

If you wanted a more clearly indefinite idea such as a task list, you would usually need a different structure, for example with an indefinite noun phrase and often a slightly different context.

So for this exact sentence, the task list is the natural reading.