How to separate posts loop in to two columns? [duplicate]

   <?php  
     $row_start = 1; 
     while ( have_posts() ) : the_post(); 
        if( $row_start % 2  != 0) {// odd
        ?>
          <div class="left-side"> 
             <?php get_template_part( 'blog','item'); ?> 
          </div> 
        <?php
        }
        if( $row_start % 2 == 0) {// even
        ?> 
          <div class="right-side"> 
             <?php get_template_part( 'blog','item');?> 
          </div> 
        <?php
        }
        ++$row_start; 
     endwhile;
    ?>

You could always break in and out of PHP to achieve what you’re after. I haven’t tested the above, but something similar should work.

Or …

You could avoid breaking in and out of PHP by echoing the HTML:

<?php  
     $row_start = 1; 
     while ( have_posts() ) : the_post(); 
        if( $row_start % 2  != 0) {// odd
          echo '<div class="left-side">';
          get_template_part( 'blog','item');
          echo '</div>'; 
        }
        if( $row_start % 2 == 0) {// even
          echo '<div class="right-side">';
          get_template_part( 'blog','item');
          echo '</div>';
        }
        ++$row_start; 
     endwhile;
    ?>