طباشير الخياط قرب البطانة.

Because Arabic usually leaves out the present-tense verb to be.

So طباشير الخياط قرب البطانة literally looks like:

• the tailor’s chalk
• near the lining

But it means The tailor’s chalk is near the lining.

This is a very common Arabic sentence type, often called a nominal sentence.

This is an iḍāfa construction, often translated as a possession or “of” structure.

• طباشير = chalk
• الخياط = the tailor

Together:

• طباشير الخياط = the tailor’s chalk
• literally: chalk of the tailor

In an iḍāfa:

1. the first noun does not take الـ
2. the second noun tells whose or what kind
3. the whole phrase can become definite because of the second noun

So even though طباشير has no الـ, the whole phrase is still definite: the tailor’s chalk.

Because that is how iḍāfa works.

In طباشير الخياط:

• طباشير is the first part of the iḍāfa, so it normally does not take الـ
• الخياط is the second part, and it can be definite

Since الخياط is definite (the tailor), the whole phrase becomes definite:

• طباشير الخياط = the tailor’s chalk

If you added الـ to the first word, it would usually break the normal iḍāfa pattern.

Here قرب means near or close to.

In this sentence it functions like an adverb or a preposition-like word of place:

• قرب البطانة = near the lining

So the full sentence means:

• طباشير الخياط قرب البطانة = The tailor’s chalk is near the lining.

Because قرب needs something after it to show near what.

So:

• قرب = near
• البطانة = the lining

Together:

• قرب البطانة = near the lining

Grammatically, البطانة is connected to قرب in a genitive relationship, similar to how English says the vicinity of the lining, though in normal translation we simply say near the lining.

It is a nominal sentence:

• طباشير الخياط = the topic / subject part (mubtadaʾ)
• قرب البطانة = the predicate / comment part (khabar)

So the structure is:

• [The tailor’s chalk] [is near the lining].

More technically:

• طباشيرُ is nominative
• الخياطِ is genitive because it is the second term of an iḍāfa
• قربَ is functioning as an adverbial expression of place
• البطانةِ is genitive after قرب

A careful fully vocalized reading would be:

طَباشيرُ الخَيّاطِ قُرْبَ البِطانَةِ

A practical transliteration is:

ṭabāshīru l-khayyāṭi qurba l-biṭānati

In normal pause, many final short vowels are not pronounced, so you may hear something closer to:

ṭabāshīr al-khayyāṭ qurb al-biṭāna

Also note:

• الخياط is pronounced al-khayyāṭ
• the ي is doubled in pronunciation, even if short texts often omit the shadda mark

This is a good question, because طباشير can be a little tricky for English speakers.

In actual usage, it often works like a mass noun or collective noun, so English may translate it simply as chalk.

Depending on context, it can refer to:

• chalk in general
• pieces of chalk
• tailor’s chalk as a material/tool

So in this sentence, even though the form may look plural-like, the natural English meaning can still be singular:

• طباشير الخياط = the tailor’s chalk

This is not unusual when translating tool/material words between Arabic and English.

البطانة means the lining, especially the inner fabric layer inside a garment.

Since the sentence uses sewing vocabulary:

• الخياط = tailor
• البطانة = lining

the sentence is clearly about clothing or fabric work.

Yes. Because Arabic usually omits short vowels in normal writing, قرب can represent different related forms depending on context.

For example, it may be read as something like:

• qurb = nearness / near
• part of an expression meaning near
• a form related to the root meaning to be near

But in this sentence, the context clearly shows that قرب البطانة means near the lining.

So a learner should understand it here as a location expression, not as a separate full verb.

Because in normal Arabic writing, short vowels and case endings are usually omitted.

So the sentence is written simply as:

طباشير الخياط قرب البطانة

But a grammar book might show it more fully as:

طَباشيرُ الخَيّاطِ قُرْبَ البِطانَةِ

This is very normal in Arabic:

• everyday writing: usually no case endings shown
• teaching or formal grammar contexts: case endings may be added

Yes, Arabic word order is somewhat flexible.

The basic meaning would still be understood if the location came first, for example for emphasis:

• قرب البطانة طباشير الخياط

That would still mean something like:

• Near the lining is the tailor’s chalk

But the original sentence is a straightforward, natural way to say:

• The tailor’s chalk is near the lining.