Learn Hardcore Russian: Вход в здание справа, а выход слева. - The entrance to the building is on the right, and the exit is on the left.

In Russian, present-tense statements that link a subject to a location or description usually omit the copula. So Вход в здание справа is a complete sentence without a verb. A fuller, equally correct version is Вход в здание находится справа, а выход находится слева. You’ll rarely see есть here; it’s more for existential sentences like В здании есть лифт.

What does а mean here, and why not и?

А signals contrast or opposition, roughly like whereas or but. It highlights the right vs. left contrast: entrance on the right, whereas the exit is on the left. И (and) would just add information without contrast. И isn’t wrong, but а is more idiomatic here.

Why is it в здание and not в здании?

Because в + accusative expresses motion/direction into something. Вход в здание literally means entrance into the building. В здании (prepositional) would mean in the building and would describe a location inside the building, which changes the meaning.

How can I tell that здание is accusative when it looks the same as nominative?

Neuter inanimate nouns often have identical nominative and accusative forms. You know it’s accusative from the preposition and meaning (direction into). Forms:

Nominative singular: здание
Accusative singular: здание
Prepositional singular: в здании

Shouldn’t it be выход из здания to mirror вход в здание?

Not necessarily. Here we’re just telling you where the exit itself is located relative to you: выход слева. Выход из здания emphasizes movement out of the building and is common on signs inside the building or in instructions like Выход из здания слева. Outside, people often just say выход слева.

What’s the difference between справа/слева, направо/налево, and вправо/влево?

справа/слева = location: on the right/on the left (static).
направо/налево = turn or move to the right/left (typical with motion verbs: Поверните направо).
вправо/влево = to the right/left as a direction along an axis (e.g., Передвиньте коробку вправо). Also, справа/слева are relative to your current viewpoint unless another reference is given.

Can I say справа/слева от to specify “to the right/left of something”?

Yes: справа от and слева от take the genitive. Example: Слева от входа — стойка регистрации. Without от X, справа/слева is understood relative to the immediate context/viewpoint.

Is the word order fixed? Could I say Вход справа в здание?

Keep в здание right after вход, because it tightly binds to it: Вход в здание справа. Вход справа в здание sounds unnatural. Natural variants include:

Вход справа, а выход слева.
Справа — вход в здание, слева — выход.

Pronunciation tips for вход, выход, and в здание?

вход: the в is devoiced before х, so it sounds like f-khot, with х as the harsh kh in Scottish loch. Final д often devoices to [t], but many speakers voice it to [d] before a voiced consonant, so вход в can sound like f-khod v or f-khot v.
вы́ход: stress on the first syllable; ы is a central, deep vowel (not like English i).
здáние: stress on the first а. In в здание, the в and з run together to sound like vz-.

Are вход and выход nouns or verbs? What gender are they?

They’re nouns, both masculine: вход (entrance), вы́ход (exit). Plurals: входы, выходы.

What’s the nuance between здание and дом?

Здание is any building/structure. Дом often means a house or a residential building, and in addresses it’s the building number (e.g., дом 10). Here здание is the neutral choice for building.

Why is there a comma before а?

А links two independent clauses in contrast, and Russian requires a comma before it. You could also add an emphatic dash for a pause: ..., а выход — слева. The comma is standard.

Do I need to capitalize вход and выход?

Not in normal sentences. On signs, they’re often written in all caps for visibility, but that’s typography, not grammar.

Are there more explicit alternatives that natives use?

Yes:

Вход в здание с правой стороны, а выход — с левой.
Вход находится справа, выход — слева.
Справа — вход, слева — выход.