When discussing two sides of a debate—such as the pros and cons of remote work versus traditional office life—you need a way to pivot smoothly between opposing viewpoints. In Croatian, the most common and versatile phrase for this is s druge strane.
S druge strane (On the other hand)
Literally translating to "from the other side," s druge strane functions exactly like "on the other hand" in English. It is a contrastive discourse marker used to introduce a different perspective, a contrasting fact, or a counterargument. It typically sits at the beginning of a sentence and is separated from the rest of the clause by a comma.
To see it in action, let's first establish a positive point about remote work:
Now, we can pivot to introduce a contrasting point about the traditional office:
Weighing Pros and Cons
When evaluating a complex topic like your work environment, you will often list benefits such as financial savings and contrast them with challenges like isolation or the need for strict discipline. Using s druge strane helps you weigh these factors naturally across multiple sentences.
You can just as easily use it to contrast a positive change with a potential drawback:
Contrast Within a Sentence (Premda / Mada)
While s druge strane is perfect for linking separate, contrasting sentences, you will sometimes want to contrast ideas within a single thought. For this, you can use the conjunctions premda or mada, both of which mean "although" or "even though."