chǔwùguì zài línyùshì pángbiān.

to be at

Breakdown of chǔwùguì zài línyùshì pángbiān.

• 旁边pángbiān: side
• 储物柜chǔwùguì: locker
• 淋浴室línyùshì: shower room

Questions & Answers about chǔwùguì zài línyùshì pángbiān.

Why is the word order 储物柜 在 淋浴室 旁边 and not something closer to English word order?

Chinese often states location with this pattern:

thing + 在 + place

So here:

• 储物柜 = the locker / lockers
• 在 = is/are located at
• 淋浴室旁边 = beside the shower room

That makes 储物柜 在 淋浴室 旁边 a very standard sentence pattern for saying where something is.

A useful formula is:

A 在 B 附近 / 旁边 / 里面 / 外面
= A is near / next to / inside / outside B

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Why isn’t there a word for is in the sentence?

In Chinese, when you say where something is located, 在 often does the job that English is/are would do in a sentence like this.

So:

• 储物柜在淋浴室旁边。 = The locker(s) are beside the shower room.

You would not usually say 储物柜是...旁边 here.
Using 是 for physical location is generally incorrect.

Compare:

• 他是老师。 = He is a teacher.
  
  • 是 links two nouns.
• 他在教室。 = He is in the classroom.
  
  • 在 shows location.

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What exactly does 旁边 mean?