המעיל בארון, אבל הכפפות על הכיסא.

Because Hebrew usually leaves out the verb to be in the present tense.

So:

• המעיל בארון = The coat is in the closet
• הכפפות על הכיסא = The gloves are on the chair

This kind of sentence is very normal in Hebrew. In the past or future, Hebrew does use a form of to be:

• המעיל היה בארון = The coat was in the closet
• הכפפות יהיו על הכיסא = The gloves will be on the chair

So the original sentence is complete and natural even without a separate word for is/are.

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

So:

• מעיל = a coat / coat
• המעיל = the coat
• כפפות = gloves
• הכפפות = the gloves

It attaches directly to the noun as a prefix, unlike English, where the is a separate word.

Because the preposition ב־ meaning in attaches directly to the following noun.

So:

• ב + ארון → בארון

This is very common in Hebrew. Short prepositions are often written as prefixes.

A useful extra point: in unpointed Hebrew, בארון can mean either:

• in a closet
• in the closet

With vowel marks, the two are distinguished, but without vowel marks they are spelled the same. Usually context tells you which meaning is intended.

Because not all prepositions behave the same way.

The preposition ב־ is a one-letter prefix, so it attaches to the noun:

• בארון = in the closet / in a closet

But על is a full word meaning on, so it stays separate:

• על הכיסא = on the chair

Also, only certain prepositions commonly merge with the definite article ה־ in writing, especially ב־, ל־, and כ־.
על does not merge that way, so you keep:

• על הכיסא not a combined form

This is a very common point of confusion.

In Hebrew, when ב־, ל־, or כ־ come before a definite noun, they combine with the definite article ה־. So in the closet can appear as בארון in normal unpointed spelling.

But with על, the article stays visible:

• על הכיסא = on the chair

So Hebrew does not show definiteness in exactly the same way after every preposition.

אבל means but.

It connects the two clauses:

• המעיל בארון
• הכפפות על הכיסא

So the sentence means something like:

• The coat is in the closet, but the gloves are on the chair

The comma is used much like in English, separating two clauses joined by but.

It is one sentence made of two clauses joined by אבל.

The two clauses are:

• המעיל בארון
• הכפפות על הכיסא

Each clause is a complete present-tense statement on its own, even without a verb to be.

So yes, they may look short, but they are full clauses, not just fragments.

The original order is the most neutral and straightforward:

• subject + location

So:

• המעיל בארון = The coat is in the closet
• הכפפות על הכיסא = The gloves are on the chair

Hebrew can sometimes move the location phrase earlier for emphasis, but the original version is the most natural basic order for a learner to use.

So this sentence is a good model for simple location statements.

Here are the main nouns in the sentence:

• מעיל = coat — masculine singular
• כפפה = glove — feminine singular
• כפפות = gloves — feminine plural
• ארון = closet / cabinet — masculine singular
• כיסא = chair — masculine singular

This matters because in Hebrew, adjectives and many verbs agree with gender and number.
In this specific sentence, you do not see much agreement because there is no present-tense verb to be.

A simple transliteration is:

ha-me'il ba-aron, aval ha-kfafot al ha-kise.

Approximate stress:

• ha-me'IL
• ba-a'RON
• a'VAL
• ha-kfa'FOT
• al ha-ki'SE

One pronunciation point learners often notice: כפפות begins with a consonant cluster, roughly kfa-, which can feel unusual at first for English speakers.