Learn Hardcore Chinese: wǒ zuò zài zuǒbiān, tā zuò zài yòubian. - I sit on the left, and she sits on the right.

我坐在左边 is the normal, very natural way.
- Main verb: 坐
- 在左边 is the location complement of 坐.
我在左边坐 is grammatically okay but sounds more marked or special, like emphasizing the location first:
- Literally: I, at the left side, sit.

In everyday speech, for actions like 坐 / 站 / 放 / 放在, the usual pattern is: > Subject + Verb + 在 + Place
So: 我坐在左边 is what you should normally use.

Could I just say 我在左边 instead of 我坐在左边?

Yes, you can, but there is a nuance difference.

我在左边。
- Literally: I am at the left side.
- Focus: location (where I am).
我坐在左边。
- Literally: I sit at the left side.
- Focus: the action/posture (sitting) and location together.

In many contexts where it’s obviously about seating (e.g. talking about where people sit at a table), 我在左边 will still be understood as “I am (sitting/standing) on the left.” But 我坐在左边 is more explicit about the posture.

Why is 在 used after 坐 instead of being the main verb, like 我在左边?

Chinese has two common patterns related to places:

Subject + 在 + Place
- Here 在 is the main verb: “to be located at”.
- Example: 我在左边。 – I am at the left.
Subject + (Action verb) + 在 + Place
- Here 在 is more like a preposition, and the place is a location complement of the action.
- Example: 我坐在左边。 – I sit at the left.

In your sentence, the speaker wants to explicitly say that the action is sitting, so they choose pattern 2: 坐 + 在 + 左边.

Why is 她 repeated: 她坐在右边, instead of just saying 我坐在左边，坐在右边?

In Chinese, the subject can be omitted in the second clause if it’s clear from context, but it’s not required.

All of these are possible, with slightly different feels:

我坐在左边，她坐在右边。
– Both subjects are explicit and parallel. Very clear and natural.
我坐在左边，在右边。
– Grammatically possible, but feels slightly incomplete or less natural, because the second clause now only has 在右边 without a clear subject or verb.
我坐在左边，坐在右边。
– Sounds wrong/odd, because we now have two actions (坐) but only one subject (我). It sounds like “I sit on the left, (I) sit on the right” with no “she”.

Generally, when two different people are doing similar actions, it’s natural to repeat the subject: 我…，她….

Could I say 我坐左边，她坐右边 without 在?

Yes, in casual speech you will hear things like:

我坐左边，她坐右边。

Native speakers often drop 在, especially in informal contexts. It still sounds natural.

However, for learners and in more careful or standard speech, including 在 is safer and more standard:

我坐在左边，她坐在右边。

What is the role of 边 in 左边 and 右边? Why not just 左 and 右?

边 literally means side, so:

左边 – the left side
右边 – the right side

Using just 左 and 右 is more like using the bare adjectives “left” and “right”. In most position/location phrases, Chinese prefers:

左边 / 左面 / 左侧 (left side)
右边 / 右面 / 右侧 (right side)

So:

我坐在左边。 – I sit on the left side.
她坐在右边。 – She sits on the right side.

You would rarely say 我坐在左 or 她坐在右; that sounds incomplete.

What is the difference between 左边, 左面, and 左侧? And similarly 右边 / 右面 / 右侧?

All three can often mean “the left/right side,” but there are nuances:

左边 / 右边
- Very common, everyday, neutral.
- Used in daily speech and writing.
左面 / 右面
- Also common, especially for sides/faces of physical objects (like “the left side of the box”).
- Often interchangeable with 左边 / 右边 in many contexts.
左侧 / 右侧
- More formal or technical-sounding.
- Common in instructions, signs, medical language:
  - 请站在右侧。 – Please stand on the right side. (sign)
  - 左侧胸口疼。 – Pain in the left side of the chest.

In your sentence, 左边 / 右边 is the most natural choice.

Why is 边 in 右边 (yòubian) often pronounced with a neutral tone instead of biān?

In pinyin, you often see:

左边 zuǒbian
右边 yòubian

The character 边 has the full tone biān (first tone), but in high-frequency combinations like 左边 / 右边, it is very often pronounced in neutral tone in actual speech.

So:

Dictionary reading: zuǒbiān, yòubiān
Everyday spoken Chinese: zuǒbian, yòubian (neutral bian)

Neutral tone:

Is shorter and lighter.
Makes the word feel more “grammatical” and less like a stressed content word.

Both are acceptable; as a learner, just be aware native speakers usually “lighten” it.

How do I express “I am sitting on the left; she is sitting on the right” as a continuous action (like English present continuous)?

The original sentence 我坐在左边，她坐在右边。 already covers both possibilities:

I sit on the left… (general/habit)
I am sitting on the left… (right now)

Chinese does not mark tense the same way English does. Context tells you whether it’s happening now or is a habitual action.

If you really want to emphasize that it’s happening right now, you can add 正在 or 呢:

我正在坐在左边，她正在坐在右边。 – Very explicit, but a bit heavy.
More natural:
- 我坐在左边，她坐在右边呢。 – The 呢 often suggests an ongoing situation.

Can 左边 / 右边 take measure words, like “one left side,” “that right side”?

Yes, they can behave like nouns and take measure words:

那边左边的人是我。 – The person on the left there is me.
在那一边的右边。 – On the right side of that side.

More straightforward examples:

左边那个人是我。 – The person on the left is me.
右边这张桌子是新的。 – This table on the right is new.

Here:

左边 / 右边 act as location nouns, modified by 这 / 那 / 那个 / 这边, etc.

Could I use 旁边 instead of 左边 / 右边?

旁边 means beside / next to, not specifically left or right.

我坐在她旁边。 – I sit next to her.

If you say:

我坐在左边，她坐在右边。
– This clearly tells you which side each person is on.

If you use 旁边, you lose the left/right information:

我坐在她旁边。 – Only tells you that you’re next to her, not which side.

So 旁边 is not a direct substitute for 左边 / 右边; it answers a different question (“beside who?” rather than “on which side?”).

Why is there just a comma ， between the two clauses instead of a conjunction like 和 (and)?

Chinese often joins two closely related clauses with just a comma:

我坐在左边，她坐在右边。

This is very natural. There is no need for an explicit “and”. It’s understood from context that the two actions are parallel.

You could add 而 or 而且 in other types of sentences, but here:

我坐在左边，而且她坐在右边。 – Grammatically okay, but sounds less natural for this simple, symmetric description.

For simple parallel statements about two subjects, comma alone is standard.