Breakdown of Aan de ene kant is de strategie goed.
de strategie
the strategy
aan de ene kant
on the one hand
Questions & Answers about Aan de ene kant is de strategie goed.
Why does is come before de strategie?
The sentence starts with the phrase Aan de ene kant. Because this whole phrase takes up the first position in the sentence, Dutch applies the verb-second (V2) rule. The verb is must come right after it, which forces the subject de strategie to move to the third position. This swap is called inversion.
Why is it ene instead of the normal number één?
In this expression, ene acts as an adjective describing the noun kant (side). Because it comes after the definite article de, it gets an -e ending just like a regular adjective would. You will see the exact same pattern in the matching phrase aan de andere kant (on the other hand).
Does kant literally mean "hand" here?
No, kant literally means "side", "edge", or "direction". So the Dutch expression translates word-for-word as "on the one side", but it means exactly the same as the English idiom "on the one hand".
How could I follow this sentence up using a contrast word like echter or daarentegen from this lesson?
This sentence perfectly sets up a contrast. Your next sentence will likely present the downside, and you can place your contrast adverb right after the verb. For example: De uitvoering is daarentegen slecht (The execution, on the other hand, is bad) or De uitvoering is echter slecht (The execution, however, is bad).
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