بعد الاستراحة نبدأ الاجتماع في المكتب.

بعد means after here.

For a learner, the easiest way to think of it is:

• بعد + noun = after + noun

So:

• بعد الاستراحة = after the break

More technically, بعد is often treated like a preposition in beginner explanations, but in traditional grammar it behaves like a noun of time and forms an iḍāfa construction with the word after it.

Because the sentence means after the break, not just after a break.

• استراحة = a break / break
• الاستراحة = the break

Arabic uses الـ to make a noun definite, like the in English.

After بعد, the following noun is in the genitive.

So in fully marked MSA, you would have:

• بعدَ الاستراحةِ

The final -i on الاستراحةِ shows the genitive case.

In normal everyday writing, short vowels are usually not written, so you just see الاستراحة.

Because Arabic often puts a time expression at the beginning of the sentence to set the scene first.

So:

• بعد الاستراحة نبدأ الاجتماع في المكتب
• literally: After the break, we start the meeting in the office

This is very natural in Arabic. You could also move the time phrase later, but starting with it is common and clear.

The نـ at the beginning marks first person plural:

• نبدأ = we start / we begin

So Arabic does not need a separate word for we unless you want extra emphasis.

Compare:

• أبدأ = I start
• نبدأ = we start
• يبدأ = he starts
• تبدأ = she starts / you start

Because the verb already tells you the subject.

In نبدأ, the نـ already means we. So نحن is not necessary.

You could say:

• نحن نبدأ الاجتماع في المكتب

but that would usually add emphasis, like we are the ones starting the meeting.

In ordinary Arabic, the subject pronoun is often omitted when the verb already makes it clear.

Formally, نبدأ is a present/imperfect verb.

But in Arabic, the present tense is often used for:

• habitual actions
• current actions
• scheduled or near-future actions

So here نبدأ can naturally mean:

• we start
• we are starting
• we will start

Because the context is a schedule, English often translates it as a future idea: After the break, we’ll start the meeting in the office.

If you want to make the future more explicit, you can say:

• بعد الاستراحة سنبدأ الاجتماع في المكتب
• After the break, we will start the meeting in the office

In this sentence, الاجتماع is the direct object of نبدأ:

• نبدأ الاجتماع = we start the meeting

That is a normal pattern.

You may also see:

• نبدأ بالاجتماع

but that means something slightly different, more like:

• we begin with the meeting
• we start by holding the meeting

So:

• نبدأ الاجتماع = start the meeting itself
• نبدأ بالاجتماع = begin with the meeting

Both are possible, but they are not exactly identical.

Because it means the meeting, not just a meeting.

• اجتماع = a meeting
• الاجتماع = the meeting

This usually implies a specific meeting that both speaker and listener already know about, such as the scheduled meeting in a workday or timetable.

في المكتب is a prepositional phrase of place. It tells you where the action happens.

• في = in / at
• المكتب = the office

So:

• في المكتب = in the office / at the office

After the preposition في, the noun is genitive, so in full case marking it would be:

• في المكتبِ

In fully vowelled MSA, the sentence would be:

• بعدَ الاستراحةِ نبدأُ الاجتماعَ في المكتبِ

The endings are:

• بعدَ — accusative as an adverbial expression of time
• الاستراحةِ — genitive after بعد
• نبدأُ — indicative verb
• الاجتماعَ — accusative direct object
• المكتبِ — genitive after في

In normal writing, these short vowels are usually omitted, so you see:

• بعد الاستراحة نبدأ الاجتماع في المكتب

It is pronounced approximately nabdaʾu in full MSA pronunciation.

A few notes:

• The ن gives na-
• The بد gives bd
• The ء is a hamza, a real consonant, like a little catch in the throat
• The final -u is the normal indicative ending in careful MSA

In pause or less formal pronunciation, people often do not pronounce every final case vowel, so you may hear something closer to nabdaʾ.

Yes. Arabic word order is fairly flexible.

This sentence:

• بعد الاستراحة نبدأ الاجتماع في المكتب

is very natural because it begins with the time phrase.

But you could also say:

• نبدأ الاجتماع في المكتب بعد الاستراحة

This still means essentially the same thing: We start the meeting in the office after the break.

The difference is mostly one of focus and style, not basic meaning.