הספר שלי על המדף מעל השולחן.

In Hebrew, the verb to be is usually not written in the present tense.

So:

• הספר שלי על המדף literally looks like the book my on the shelf
• but it means My book is on the shelf

This is completely normal in Hebrew. If you want, you can sometimes add a word like נמצא (is located / is found) for extra clarity, but it is not required:

• הספר שלי נמצא על המדף = My book is on the shelf

So the original sentence is natural and correct.

In Hebrew, possession with של works differently from English.

English says:

• my book

Hebrew says:

• הספר שלי
• literally: the book of mine

This is a very common Hebrew pattern:

• הבית שלי = my house
• החבר שלי = my friend
• העט שלי = my pen

So שלי usually comes after the noun, not before it.

The prefix ה־ is the Hebrew definite article, meaning the.

So:

• ספר = a book / book

• הספר = the book

• מדף = a shelf / shelf

• המדף = the shelf

• שולחן = a table / table
• השולחן = the table

In this sentence:

• הספר שלי = my book
• המדף = the shelf
• השולחן = the table

In Hebrew, a possessed noun is often definite, so הספר שלי is natural for my book.

Because in Hebrew, a noun followed by a possessive expression like שלי is usually treated as definite.

So:

• הספר שלי = my book
• literally: the book of mine

Using ספר שלי may be possible in certain contexts, but it is much less standard in basic neutral Hebrew. Learners should generally use:

• ה + noun + שלי/שלך/שלו...

For example:

• החדר שלי = my room
• המורה שלי = my teacher

על usually means on, on top of, or sometimes about, depending on context.

In this sentence:

• על המדף = on the shelf

So the book is resting on the shelf.

Examples:

• הטלפון על השולחן = The phone is on the table
• ספר על היסטוריה = a book about history

So context tells you which meaning is intended.

מעל means above or over.

So:

• על המדף = on the shelf
• מעל השולחן = above the table

This sentence combines both ideas:

• the book is on the shelf
• the shelf is above the table

That is why both prepositions appear:

• על = contact with a surface
• מעל = higher than, not necessarily touching

Compare:

• הספר על השולחן = The book is on the table
• המנורה מעל השולחן = The lamp is above the table

In this sentence, the most natural reading is that מעל השולחן describes המדף:

• הספר שלי על המדף מעל השולחן
• My book is on the shelf above the table

So the structure is understood as:

• [הספר שלי] [על המדף [מעל השולחן]]

In other words:

• the book is on the shelf
• that shelf is above the table

If you wanted to make it clearer, you could say:

• הספר שלי על המדף שנמצא מעל השולחן
• My book is on the shelf that is above the table

A little, yes, at least in theory.

A learner might wonder whether it could mean:

• My book is on the shelf above the table or
• My book is on the shelf, above the table

But in normal usage, the first meaning is the natural one: מעל השולחן modifies המדף.

If a speaker wanted to focus on the book’s position relative to the table, they would probably choose a clearer wording.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

• ha-SE-fer sheh-LI al ha-MA-daf me-AL ha-shul-KHAN

A few notes:

• הספר = ha-sefer
• שלי = sheli
• המדף = hamadaf
• מעל = me'al
• השולחן = hashulchan

The ch in shulchan is like the sound in German Bach or Hebrew ח, not like English chair.

No. את is used before a definite direct object.

But this sentence does not have a direct object. It is a location sentence:

• subject: הספר שלי
• location: על המדף מעל השולחן

Since nothing is being acted on directly, את is not needed.

For comparison:

• אני רואה את הספר = I see the book
  Here את is needed because הספר is a definite direct object.

But in your sentence, there is no verb like see, take, or put.

Yes, Hebrew word order is somewhat flexible, but the original order is very natural.

Standard and clear:

• הספר שלי על המדף מעל השולחן

You could also say:

• על המדף מעל השולחן הספר שלי
• literally: On the shelf above the table is my book

That sounds more marked or literary, not the most neutral basic phrasing.

So for learners, the original sentence is the best pattern to remember:

• subject + location

Yes. That is also correct.

Adding נמצא means something like is located or is found:

• הספר שלי נמצא על המדף מעל השולחן

This can sound slightly more explicit or formal, but the shorter version without נמצא is very common and natural.

No. שלי itself does not change based on the gender of the possessed noun.

So you can say:

• הספר שלי = my book
• המחברת שלי = my notebook

In both cases, שלי stays the same.

What changes is the noun itself, and sometimes other parts of the sentence if adjectives are involved, but שלי remains שלי.

Here is a word-by-word breakdown:

• הספר = the book
• שלי = my / of mine
• על = on
• המדף = the shelf
• מעל = above
• השולחן = the table

So the full structure is:

• הספר שלי = my book
• על המדף = on the shelf
• מעל השולחן = above the table

Natural full meaning:

• My book is on the shelf above the table.