Linear Seating Arrangement

Linear seating puts people in a single row and asks who sits where, and it is one of the most rewarding blocks in SBI Clerk Reasoning because a whole set of four to five questions falls out of one diagram. The trick is to build that diagram once, correctly, instead of re-reading the clues for every question. In a single north-facing row the golden rule fixes everything: for a person facing north, their left is your left and their right is your right, so directions never flip and reading stays natural.

The Left-Right Rule for a North-Facing Row

Draw the row as you read a page — left end on your left, right end on your right. When everyone faces north (towards you as the reader from behind), a person's left hand points to your left and their right hand points to your right, so 'B is to the right of A' simply means B sits further right on your paper. If the row faces south instead, every left and right reverses, so always note the facing direction first before you place a single name.

The Gaps Method

The fastest way to place people is to leave numbered blanks and drop names into them. For eight people draw eight dashes, then read clues that fix a position absolutely, such as 'C sits third from the left'. Phrases like 'exactly two people sit between A and B' become fixed gaps you can slide as a block. Filling the strongest, most definite clue first and treating loose clues as movable blocks is what turns a wall of sentences into one clean line.

Position from right = (Total + 1) - Position from left e.g. 8 people, 3rd from left = 6th from right

Solved Example

Example: Seven friends face north. P is 3rd from left, Q is at the extreme right, and two people sit between P and R with R to P's right. Dashes 1-7: P at 3, Q at 7. R is two seats right of P, so R at position 6. The seat immediately left of Q is R, confirming R at 6, Q at 7 with no clash.

✗ Reading 'left of A' from your own side when the row faces south  |  ✓ Checking the facing direction first, then flipping left/right for a south-facing row

Ends, Extremes and Between Clues

Two clue types decide most linear sets, so master both. 'Extreme end' clues are gold because they pin a person to position one or the last seat with no ambiguity, giving you a firm anchor to build outward from. 'Between' clues come in two flavours: 'exactly three sit between M and N' fixes a gap of four positions, while 'M and N have as many between them as...' links two gaps you can equate. Watch the difference between 'immediate left', meaning the very next seat, and plain 'left', meaning anywhere to that side. Placing every extreme-end and immediate-neighbour clue before the vaguer ones keeps your diagram from branching into cases you did not need.