درج المكتب قرب لوحة التحكم.

Here, درج means drawer.

A learner may notice that درج without short vowels can be ambiguous in writing. In other contexts, similar spelling can relate to stairs/steps or other meanings. In this sentence, the context makes drawer the intended meaning: درج المكتب = the desk drawer.

It is also singular here. A common plural is أدراج.

This is a very common Arabic structure called iḍāfa (the construct phrase).

• درج المكتب literally means drawer of the desk
• Natural English translation: the desk drawer

So Arabic often puts two nouns together where English might use of or turn the first noun into an adjective-like noun.

In this sentence:

• درج = drawer
• المكتب = the desk

So درج المكتب is a unit meaning the desk drawer.

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

So:

• درج المكتب قرب لوحة التحكم
• literally: The desk drawer near the control panel
• naturally: The desk drawer is near the control panel

This is a normal nominal sentence in Arabic.

If you wanted was, Arabic would use a verb such as كان.

قرب means near.

In this sentence, قرب لوحة التحكم means near the control panel.

A useful point is that قرب can be used directly before a noun phrase, so Arabic does not need a separate word like to or from here.

So:

• قرب لوحة التحكم = near the control panel

A common alternative in Arabic is:

• بالقرب من لوحة التحكم = near the control panel

Both are natural, but your sentence uses the shorter structure.

Because of the iḍāfa structure.

In an iḍāfa:

• the first noun usually does not take الـ
• the whole phrase can still be definite

So:

• درج المكتب does not need الـ on درج
• the phrase is still definite because المكتب is definite

That is why درج المكتب means the desk drawer, not just a desk drawer.

For the same reason: لوحة التحكم is also an iḍāfa phrase.

It literally means:

• panel of control

But in natural English, that becomes:

• the control panel

In an iḍāfa, the first noun normally does not take الـ, so:

• correct: لوحة التحكم
• not standard: اللوحة التحكم

The whole phrase is definite because التحكم is definite.

Yes. In a connected phrase like this, the ة in لوحة is pronounced as t.

So لوحة التحكم is pronounced roughly like lawḥat at-taḥakkum in careful reading.

Two useful pronunciation notes:

• لوحة on its own is usually heard as lawḥa
• in لوحة التحكم, it becomes lawḥat... because it is linked to the next word in an iḍāfa

Also, in التحكم, the ل of الـ is not pronounced, because ت is a sun letter. So you hear:

• at-taḥakkum
• not al-taḥakkum

A fully vocalized version is:

دُرْجُ الْمَكْتَبِ قُرْبَ لَوْحَةِ التَّحَكُّمِ.

If you want the grammar behind that:

• دُرْجُ: nominative, because it is the subject/topic
• الْمَكْتَبِ: genitive, because it is the second part of an iḍāfa
• قُرْبَ: an adverbial expression meaning near
• لَوْحَةِ: genitive after قرب
• التَّحَكُّمِ: genitive, because it is the second part of لوحة التحكم

In normal speech, many speakers would not pronounce all those final case endings.

It can mean desk or office, depending on context.

In this sentence, desk is the natural meaning because of درج:

• درج المكتب makes best sense as the desk drawer

If the context were about a workplace or room, المكتب could mean the office. Arabic often relies on context for words like this.

Yes, Arabic word order is fairly flexible, but the given order is very natural for a simple statement.

• درج المكتب قرب لوحة التحكم = a neutral statement
• it starts with the thing being talked about: the desk drawer
• then gives its location: near the control panel

Other orders are possible for emphasis, but this version is straightforward and clear for standard written Arabic.