الكراسي حول الطاولة.

Because Arabic often omits the verb to be in the present tense.

So الكراسي حول الطاولة literally looks like the chairs around the table, but it means The chairs are around the table.

This is a normal nominal sentence in Arabic:

• الكراسي = the chairs
• حول الطاولة = around the table

In past or future contexts, Arabic would use a verb:

• كانت الكراسي حول الطاولة = The chairs were around the table

In Modern Standard Arabic, it can be a complete sentence.

Arabic allows sentences without an explicit present-tense to be. So:

• الكراسي is the topic/subject
• حول الطاولة is the predicate, telling you where the chairs are

So grammatically, this works as a full sentence, not just a fragment.

Here حول means around.

In grammar terms, حول is often treated as a noun of place / ظرف that functions very much like a preposition in English. In practical learning terms, you can think of it as behaving like around.

So:

• حول الطاولة = around the table

Because حول needs something after it to say around what.

So:

• حول = around
• الطاولة = the table

Together:

• حول الطاولة = around the table

In Arabic grammar, حول is commonly analyzed as part of an iḍāfa-like structure here:

• حولَ is the first part
• الطاولةِ is the second part

That is why الطاولة is in the genitive role.

Because both nouns are definite in the intended meaning:

• الكراسي = the chairs
• الطاولة = the table

So the whole sentence means:

• The chairs are around the table

If you removed الـ, the meaning would become more indefinite:

• كراسي حول طاولة = chairs around a table / some chairs around a table

Because ط is a sun letter.

When الـ comes before a sun letter, the l sound of al- assimilates to the next consonant. So:

• الطاولة is pronounced aṭ-ṭāwila
• not al-ṭāwila

You still write الـ, but you pronounce it with assimilation.

By contrast, الكراسي begins with ك, which is a moon letter, so it is pronounced:

• al-karāsī

The singular is كرسي = chair.

So:

• كرسي = a chair
• الكراسي = the chairs

This is a broken plural, which means the plural is not formed by just adding a simple ending like English -s. Instead, the internal shape of the word changes.

Yes, in fully vocalized formal Arabic there are case endings, even though they are usually not written in normal text.

The structure is roughly:

• الكراسيُ = nominative, because it is the subject/topic
• حولَ = accusative as a ظرف
• الطاولةِ = genitive after حول in this construction

In everyday printed Arabic, you usually see:

• الكراسي حول الطاولة

without the short-vowel endings written.

You can, but it changes the feel and is less neutral.

The basic, neutral order here is:

• الكراسي حول الطاولة

This starts with the thing being talked about: the chairs.

If you front حول الطاولة, you are giving extra focus to the location:

• حول الطاولة الكراسي

That kind of order can appear in certain contexts, but for a beginner, the original order is the safest and most natural one to learn first.

Functionally, yes—it works like one in translation.

A more traditional Arabic grammar description would say it is a semi-sentence or adverbial phrase:

• حول = a noun of place / ظرف
• الطاولة = the noun linked to it

But for learning purposes, it is perfectly helpful to think of حول الطاولة as the phrase around the table, which acts like the predicate of the sentence.