ما المشكلة في المكتب اليوم؟

A careful MSA-style pronunciation (with the ال fully pronounced because it’s a “moon letter” here) is:

• mā al-mushkilatu fī al-maktabi al-yawma?

In normal reading, the initial a of al- often drops after a preceding word (because الـ has hamzat al-waṣl), so you may hear:

• mā l-mushkilatu fī l-maktabi l-yawma?

Many speakers also drop most case endings in everyday speech, sounding closer to:

• mā l-mushkila fī l-maktab il-yawm?

In Arabic, the present-tense verb to be is usually not expressed in nominal sentences. So ما المشكلة…؟ literally works as “What (is) the problem…?” without an explicit is.

If you want to make it extra explicit/formal, you can add هي:

• ما هي المشكلة في المكتب اليوم؟ = “What is the problem in the office today?”

It’s a nominal question:

• ما = interrogative pronoun (What…?) functioning as the subject (مبتدأ) in meaning/position
• المشكلة = the predicate (خبر): the problem
• في المكتب = prepositional phrase describing where the problem is (in the office)
• اليوم = time adverb (today) applying to the situation/question

So conceptually: What is the problem [located] in the office today?

ما commonly appears in questions that are essentially “What is X?” (a nominal-style question), e.g. ما الاسم؟ “What’s the name?”

ماذا is very common when “what” is the object of a verb, e.g.:

• ماذا تريد؟ = “What do you want?”
• ماذا فعلت؟ = “What did you do?”

Here, since there’s no main verb like “want/do,” ما المشكلة؟ is the natural choice.

Using الـ makes them specific/known:

• المشكلة = “the problem” (a particular problem you’re referring to)
• المكتب = “the office” (a specific office—often “our/the office” in context)

If you remove الـ from مشكلة, it can sound more like “what kind of problem” / “what problem (is there)…?” depending on context:

• ما مشكلةٌ في المكتب اليوم؟ (more like “What problem is there in the office today?”)

In fully inflected MSA (often seen in careful reading):

• ما is indeclinable (no case ending you pronounce)
• المشكلةُ would be nominative (as the predicate in this nominal sentence)
• في المكتبِ: after في, المكتبِ is genitive
• اليومَ is often accusative because it’s used as a time adverb (ظرف زمان)

So: ما المشكلةُ في المكتبِ اليومَ؟

(But in most real-life speaking/reading, these endings are frequently not pronounced.)

The final ة (tāʾ marbūṭa) usually marks a feminine noun.

Pronunciation:

• At a pause (end of the sentence): pronounced like -a → al-mushkila
• If followed closely by another word in certain grammatical environments (like possessive constructions), it can sound like -t:
  • مشكلةُ المكتبِ = mushkilatu l-maktabi (“the office’s problem” / “the problem of the office”)

Yes. Arabic word order is flexible, and moving phrases can change emphasis slightly. All of these are possible:

• ما المشكلة في المكتب اليوم؟ (neutral)
• ما المشكلة اليوم في المكتب؟ (slight emphasis on today)
• في المكتب اليوم ما المشكلة؟ (fronting the location/time for emphasis; more rhetorical/stylistic)

No. في does not form a single written unit with الـ.

But pronunciation often links them by dropping the initial vowel of الـ (hamzat al-waṣl), so:

• written: في المكتب
• pronounced: fī l-maktab(i) (in connected speech)

In contrast, بـ + الـ really does contract in writing:

• بِ + الـمكتب → بالمكتب (“at/in the office” depending on context)

Both are correct in MSA.

• ما المشكلة…؟ is very common and direct.
• ما هي المشكلة…؟ can sound a bit more explicit, sometimes slightly more formal or careful, and it can help learners because it mirrors “What is the problem…?” more closely.