Nasa kanan ang puti at itim na sapatos, at nasa kaliwa ang pula at asul na damit.

Nasa expresses location. In this sentence, it means is/are on/in/at depending on context.

• nasa kanan = is/are on the right
• nasa kaliwa = is/are on the left

So Filipino does not need a separate word exactly like English is/are here; nasa already does that job in a location sentence.

That is a very common Filipino word order. Filipino often puts the predicate first and the topic after it.

So:

• Nasa kanan ang puti at itim na sapatos.

is a normal Filipino structure, literally something like:

• On the right are the white and black shoes.

If you want a structure that looks more like English, you can also say:

• Ang puti at itim na sapatos ay nasa kanan.

Both are grammatical, but the predicate-first version is very natural.

They mean:

• kanan = right
• kaliwa = left

With nasa or sa, they become location expressions:

• nasa kanan = on the right
• nasa kaliwa = on the left

Ang is a marker for the topic or focused noun phrase of the sentence. It is not exactly the same as English the, even though it is often translated that way in simple examples.

Here:

• ang puti at itim na sapatos
• ang pula at asul na damit

are the noun phrases being identified as the things located on the right and left.

So ang tells you which noun phrase is the main one being talked about in each clause.

In Filipino, many sentences do not need a separate copula like English is/are.

In this sentence, nasa already works as the location predicate:

• Nasa kanan ang ...
• Nasa kaliwa ang ...

So the idea of are is built into the structure rather than expressed as a separate verb.

Na is a linker. It connects a modifier to the noun it describes.

Examples:

• itim na sapatos = black shoes
• asul na damit = blue clothes/clothing

The linker is very common in Filipino. It helps show that the adjective belongs with the noun.

Because the whole coordinated phrase modifies the noun:

• puti at itim
  • na
    • sapatos
• pula at asul
  • na
    • damit

In other words, puti at itim acts together as the modifier, and the linker appears before the noun phrase it modifies.

So this is normal:

• puti at itim na sapatos
• pula at asul na damit

When a color stands alone directly before a noun, it often takes a linker form like:

• pulang damit = red clothing/clothes
• puting sapatos = white shoes

But in a coordinated phrase like:

• pula at asul na damit

the first adjective stays in its plain form because it is followed by at, not directly by the noun. The linker appears before the noun after the final adjective phrase.

That is why:

• pulang damit is correct
• but pula at asul na damit is also correct

It can depend on context.

This phrase can be understood as:

• white and black shoes in a general sense, or
• shoes that have white and black as their colors

Since the learner already has the meaning shown, they should follow that intended meaning. In real conversation, context usually makes it clear.

Because Filipino does not always mark plurality when the meaning is already clear from context.

• sapatos can be understood as shoe/shoes
• damit often means clothes/clothing as a collective noun

If the speaker wants to make plurality explicit, they could say mga, but it is not always necessary.

For example:

• ang mga itim na sapatos = the black shoes

In your sentence, the plural meaning can already be understood.

Damit is flexible.

It can mean:

• clothes/clothing in a general or collective sense
• sometimes a garment/outfit, depending on context

In this sentence, it most naturally reads as clothes/clothing.

At means and.

Here it is used in two ways:

1. To join colors:

   • puti at itim
   • pula at asul

2. To join the two clauses:

   • ..., at nasa kaliwa ...

So the same word at can connect either words or full clauses, just like English and.

Because the sentence has two parallel clauses, and each one needs its own predicate:

• Nasa kanan ang puti at itim na sapatos
• at nasa kaliwa ang pula at asul na damit

Repeating nasa makes the structure complete and balanced. Leaving it out would sound incomplete or much less natural.

Yes. That is also grammatical.

It uses the topic-first pattern with ay:

• Ang puti at itim na sapatos ay nasa kanan...

This is often easier for English speakers to understand at first because it looks more like The shoes are on the right.

Still, the original predicate-first version is very natural in Filipino.

Not exactly.

• sa kanan means to/on/at the right
• nasa kanan means is/are on the right

So in a full sentence like this, nasa is the safer and more natural choice for beginners because it clearly gives the location predicate.

In this sentence, they function as adjectival modifiers:

• puti = white
• itim = black
• pula = red
• asul = blue

Filipino color words are flexible, though, and in some contexts they can behave more like nouns or standalone descriptors. Here, they are clearly describing sapatos and damit.