Learn Hardcore Japanese: sofa no mannnaka ni musume ga suwatte imasu. - My daughter is sitting in the middle of the sofa.

中（なか）
- Means “inside” or “in the middle (general area).”
- Ex: カバンの中 → “inside the bag”
真ん中（まんなか）
- Emphasizes the exact center.
- 真 (true) + 中 (middle) → “right in the middle,” “dead center.”

In this sentence, ソファの真ん中 focuses on the exact middle seat/spot on the sofa, not just “somewhere on/inside the sofa.”

Why do we use に after 真ん中?

に marks the location where something exists or where an action takes place.

With verbs like いる / ある / 座る, に answers “where?”
ソファの真ん中に → “in the middle of the sofa” (as a location)

So the pattern is:

[Place] に [person/thing] がいる / 座っている
→ “[person/thing] is (sitting) at/in/on [place].”

Why is が used after 娘, and not は?

が marks the grammatical subject and often introduces or identifies the thing that fits the description in the sentence.

娘が座っています。→ “[The/ My] daughter is the one who is sitting.”

If you used は:

娘はソファの真ん中に座っています。
→ “As for my daughter, she is sitting in the middle of the sofa.”
→ Puts 娘 as the topic, maybe contrasting with someone else (e.g., “My daughter is in the middle, but my son is on the floor.”)

So in isolation, with no contrast, が is natural to simply state who is there / who is sitting.

Where is the word “my” in this sentence? Why does 娘 mean “my daughter”?

Japanese often omits possessive words like “my,” “your,” “his,” when the context is clear.

娘 literally = “daughter” (someone’s daughter)
In real conversation, when you’re talking about your own family, 娘 is usually understood as “my daughter” unless otherwise specified.

So:

ソファの真ん中に娘が座っています。
→ Literally: “There is a daughter sitting in the middle of the sofa.”
→ Naturally understood as: “My daughter is sitting in the middle of the sofa.”

Why is 座っています used instead of 座ります?

座っています is:

座る (to sit) in -te form
- いる (to be) → 座っている
Polite form: 座っています

This form can express:

An ongoing action – “is sitting down (right now)”
A resulting state – “is in the state of having sat = is sitting”

In this context it means “is sitting (there now)” — a current, ongoing state.

If you said:

娘がソファの真ん中に座ります。

it sounds more like:

“My daughter will sit (usually/next) in the middle of the sofa.”
or a general habit, not a description of the present situation.

So 座っています is the natural choice for describing the current situation.

Is 座っています present continuous (“is sitting”) or just “is seated”?

It can be understood as both, depending on context:

Grammatically:
- Vている can mean:
  - Progressive action: “is doing”
  - Resulting state: “is in the state of having done”

Here, 座っている mainly expresses a state:
→ “She is (in the state of) sitting there.”
In natural English, we simply say: “She is sitting.”

You don’t need to worry about the subtle distinction; in this kind of sentence, English “is sitting” is a good match.

Why is ソファ written in katakana and not in kanji or hiragana?

ソファ (sofa) is a loanword from a foreign language (English/French).

In Japanese, loanwords and foreign-origin words are usually written in katakana.
That’s why you see ソファ instead of something like ソファー in hiragana or kanji.

So ソファ in katakana tells you it’s a borrowed word.

Does this sentence mean “on” the sofa or “in” the sofa? How does Japanese express that?

Japanese often doesn’t distinguish “on / in / at” as sharply as English; に just marks the location.

ソファの真ん中に座っています。
→ Literally: “is sitting at the middle of the sofa.”
→ Natural English: “is sitting in the middle of the sofa” or “on the middle of the sofa.”

English speakers usually say:

“in the middle of the sofa” (natural)
“in the middle seat on the sofa” (more explicit)

Japanese leaves that to context; に just says the action happens at that location.

Could you change the word order, like putting 娘 first: 娘がソファの真ん中に座っています? Is that okay?

Yes, that version is also natural and correct:

ソファの真ん中に娘が座っています。
娘がソファの真ん中に座っています。

Word order in Japanese is flexible as long as:

The verb comes at the end.
The particles (が, に, の, etc.) are attached correctly.

Both sentences mean the same thing; the difference is a slight change in focus:

Starting with ソファの真ん中に… emphasizes the location first.
Starting with 娘が… emphasizes who is acting first.

In many everyday contexts, 娘がソファの真ん中に座っています might feel more “plainly explanatory”: “My daughter is sitting in the middle of the sofa.”

Can any particles be dropped in casual speech in this sentence?

In very casual speech, some particles can be dropped, but it’s safest to keep them while learning.

Possible casual reductions (context-dependent):

ソファの真ん中に 娘、座ってる。
ソファの真ん中 娘が座ってる。 (keep が, drop に — some speakers might do this)

However:

Dropping が can make sentences harder to understand.
For learners, it’s better to keep all particles:
ソファの真ん中に娘が座ってる。 (casual)
ソファの真ん中に娘が座っています。 (polite)

How would you say “My daughter is not sitting in the middle of the sofa”?

You negate 座っています:

Affirmative:
- 娘がソファの真ん中に座っています。
Negative:
- 娘がソファの真ん中に座っていません。
  → “My daughter is not sitting in the middle of the sofa.”

If you want to emphasize 娘 as the topic:

娘はソファの真ん中に座っていません。
→ “As for my daughter, she is not sitting in the middle of the sofa (though maybe someone else is).”

Does this sentence mean “a daughter” or “the/my daughter”? There’s no article.

Japanese has no articles (no “a / the”).

娘 just means “daughter.”
Which English article you choose (a, the, or my) depends on context.

In realistic conversation:

If you are talking about your own family, 娘 is usually understood as “my daughter.”
In a story context, it might be “the daughter” (previously mentioned in the story).
It’s almost never understood as some random, unknown “a daughter” unless clearly set up that way.

So here, the natural English reading is “My daughter is sitting in the middle of the sofa.”