The conjunction teils ..., teils ...
When evaluating properties or neighborhoods, things are rarely black and white. To describe something that has mixed qualities or contrasting states, use the two-part conjunction teils ..., teils ... ("partly ..., partly ...").
| The old building is partly charming, partly dilapidated. | Der Altbau ist teils charmant, teils verfallen. |
| The environment is partly very lively, partly quiet. | Das Umfeld ist teils sehr lebhaft, teils ruhig. |
Grammatically, teils acts as an adverb modifying the adjectives that follow it. You simply place teils directly in front of each characteristic and separate the two phrases with a comma. It does not alter the core word order of the sentence.
You can use this pattern to contrast the condition of a building's fabric (die Bausubstanz):
| The building fabric is partly well-kept, partly in need of renovation. | Die Bausubstanz ist teils gepflegt, teils sanierungsbedürftig. |
teils ..., teils ... in complex sentences
Because teils ..., teils ... attaches directly to the adjectives it describes, it works seamlessly inside longer sentences without complicating the grammar.
It behaves exactly the same way when describing a new building (der Neubau) in a compound sentence:
| This new building is partly well-kept, partly already broken. | Dieser Neubau ist teils gepflegt, teils schon kaputt. |
It also works perfectly inside subordinate clauses, such as those starting with auch wenn ("even if"). Remember that in a subordinate clause, the conjugated verb is still pushed to the very end of the sentence, after your teils ..., teils ... description.
| I am buying the old building, even if it is partly in need of renovation, partly dilapidated. | Ich kaufe den Altbau, auch wenn er teils sanierungsbedürftig, teils verfallen ist. |
