היעד הבא שלנו הוא כפר קטן ליד הים, לא עיר גדולה.

Because the noun phrase is definite: the next destination.

In Hebrew, when a noun is definite, an adjective describing it is usually definite too. So:

• יעד הבא = not correct
• היעד הבא = the next destination

This is a very common Hebrew pattern:

• הבית הגדול = the big house
• הספר החדש = the new book

In Hebrew, adjectives usually come after the noun, not before it.

So:

• היעד הבא = literally the destination next
• כפר קטן = a small village
• עיר גדולה = a big city

This is different from English, where adjectives usually come first.

יעד means destination, target, or goal, depending on context.

In this sentence, because it talks about going somewhere, היעד means destination.

So היעד הבא שלנו means our next destination.

Hebrew possessive words like שלי, שלך, שלנו usually come after the noun.

So Hebrew says:

• היעד שלנו = our destination
• הבית שלי = my house
• החברים שלהם = their friends

That is why you get:

• היעד הבא שלנו = our next destination

English puts our before the noun, but Hebrew puts שלנו after it.

Great question. Hebrew often does leave out is/are in the present tense, especially with adjectives:

• הכפר קטן = the village is small

But when the sentence links one noun phrase to another noun phrase, especially when the subject is definite, Hebrew very often uses הוא as a kind of present-tense copula:

• היעד הבא שלנו הוא כפר קטן = our next destination is a small village

Here, הוא helps clearly connect:

• היעד הבא שלנו = the subject
• כפר קטן ליד הים = what the subject is

Sometimes in very informal Hebrew, people may drop it, but in a sentence like this, הוא is the normal and clearer choice.

So:

• היעד הבא שלנו הוא כפר קטן ליד הים = standard and natural

Without הוא, the sentence can sound less smooth or less standard.

Because adjectives must agree with the noun in gender and number.

• כפר is masculine singular, so the adjective is קטן
• עיר is feminine singular, so the adjective is גדולה

So:

• כפר קטן = a small village
• עיר גדולה = a big city

This agreement is one of the most important parts of Hebrew grammar.

Because they are indefinite here:

• כפר קטן = a small village
• עיר גדולה = a big city

The sentence is saying what the destination is, but not naming a specific already-known village or city.

If it said:

• הכפר הקטן that would mean the small village

But here the meaning is more like:

• It is a small village, not a big city

ליד means near / next to / by.

Hebrew often uses the definite article with things like the sea, especially when referring to it in a general geographic sense:

• ליד הים = near the sea / by the sea

This sounds natural, just like English often says by the sea rather than by sea in this kind of sentence.

Because לא is the normal word for not when negating a statement like this.

Here the sentence is contrasting two descriptions:

• It is a small village
• not a big city

So:

• לא עיר גדולה = not a big city

אין is used more for there is not / there are not / do not have, or for non-existence:

• אין עיר גדולה ליד הים = there is no big city near the sea

That is a different meaning.

The comma marks a contrast: a small village near the sea, not a big city.

It helps the second part sound like a correction or clarification.

In speech, you would usually hear a short pause there:

• ... ליד הים, לא עיר גדולה

So the comma is not creating a special grammar rule; it mainly shows the contrast more clearly.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

ha-ya'ad ha-ba she-lanu hu kfar ka-tan le-yad ha-yam, lo ir g'do-la

A few helpful notes:

• היעד is pronounced roughly ha-ya'ad
• כפר is kfar
• עיר is often pronounced close to ir
• גדולה is g'dola

The stress usually falls near the end in words like:

• שלנו
• גדולה

And the voice naturally pauses a little before לא עיר גדולה.