Learn Hardcore Arabic (Modern Standard): أين الملعقة الآن، في المطبخ أم في الغرفة؟ - Where is the spoon now, in the kitchen or in the room?

In Arabic, the verb to be is usually left out in the present tense. So a sentence like أين الملعقة الآن؟ naturally means Where is the spoon now? even though there is no separate word for is.

If you wanted was or will be, then Arabic would use a verb:

أين كانت الملعقة؟ = Where was the spoon?
أين ستكون الملعقة؟ = Where will the spoon be?

What does أين mean, and why is it at the beginning?

أين means where. In Arabic, question words like أين normally come at the start of the sentence, just like where often does in English.

So:

أين الملعقة؟ = Where is the spoon?

Starting with أين immediately shows that this is a location question.

Why is it الملعقة and not just ملعقة?

الـ is the definite article, meaning the. So:

ملعقة = a spoon
الملعقة = the spoon

Since the sentence is asking about a specific spoon, Arabic uses الملعقة.

Is feminine, and does that matter?