jiāodài zài zhǐxiāng pángbiān.

Because Mandarin usually does not use 是 to say where something is located.

For location, Chinese typically uses this pattern:

thing + 在 + place

So:

胶带在纸箱旁边。
= The tape is beside the cardboard box.

Using 是 here would sound wrong in standard Mandarin.

In this sentence, 在 shows location. It is doing the job that English often expresses with is at / is in / is on / is beside.

So 在 here can be understood as:

• is at
• is in
• is on
• is located at

Its exact translation depends on the place phrase that follows.

Mandarin commonly puts the thing being talked about first, and then says where it is.

The basic pattern is:

Subject + 在 + Location

So:

• 胶带 = the tape
• 在 = is located
• 纸箱旁边 = beside the cardboard box

This is one of the most normal and common ways to describe location in Chinese.

旁边 means beside, next to, or by the side of.

It is a location word that tells you the relative position of something.

So:

纸箱旁边 = beside the cardboard box

Depending on context, English translations could be:

• beside
• next to
• by
• at the side of

Because Mandarin often forms place expressions like this:

noun + location word

Examples:

• 桌子上 = on the table
• 椅子后面 = behind the chair
• 纸箱旁边 = beside the cardboard box

So 旁边 does not usually stand alone here. It attaches to the noun before it to create the full location phrase.

Yes, you can. Both are understandable:

• 纸箱旁边
• 纸箱的旁边

In many everyday sentences, the 的 is often omitted, especially in simple location expressions. So 纸箱旁边 sounds very natural.

Adding 的 can sometimes sound a little more explicit or slightly more formal, but in this sentence, leaving it out is completely normal.

Mandarin does not have articles like English a, an, and the.

So 胶带 can mean:

• the tape
• a tape
• the roll of tape
• tape

The exact meaning depends on context.

The same is true for 纸箱, which can mean:

• the cardboard box
• a cardboard box

Chinese often leaves this kind of information to context instead of marking it directly.

Usually 胶带 means adhesive tape. In everyday use, it can refer to things like:

• packing tape
• clear tape
• sticky tape

The exact type depends on context.

If the sentence is about shipping or boxes, many learners will understand 胶带 here as something like packing tape.

纸箱 means a cardboard box or carton.

• 纸 = paper
• 箱 = box / case

Together, 纸箱 usually refers to a box made of cardboard or thick paper material, especially the kind used for packing or storage.

They are very similar, and in many contexts they can both mean beside or at the side of.

So these are both natural:

• 胶带在纸箱旁边。
• 胶带在纸箱边上。

There can be small regional or stylistic differences, but for a learner, they are often interchangeable in simple sentences like this.

You can use that as a learning aid, but it is not natural English.

A rough word-for-word breakdown is:

• 胶带 = tape
• 在 = at / in / on
• 纸箱旁边 = beside the cardboard box

A natural English translation is:

The tape is beside the cardboard box.

It is better to understand the sentence by its pattern rather than by forcing each word into English order.

Yes. It is a complete and natural sentence.

Mandarin often allows very compact sentences as long as the meaning is clear. This sentence has everything it needs:

• a topic/subject: 胶带
• a location marker: 在
• a location phrase: 纸箱旁边

So it is fully grammatical and natural on its own.

With pinyin, it is:

jiāodài zài zhǐxiāng pángbiān

Tone pattern:

• 胶 jiāo — 1st tone
• 带 dài — 4th tone
• 在 zài — 4th tone
• 纸 zhǐ — 3rd tone
• 箱 xiāng — 1st tone
• 旁 páng — 2nd tone
• 边 biān — 1st tone

A learner may want to pay special attention to:

• zh in 纸: a retroflex sound, not the same as English j
• x in 箱: a soft sound, not like English x
• pángbiān: the two syllables should flow smoothly together