Breakdown of Από τη μία το θέλω, από την άλλη είναι ακριβό.
Questions & Answers about Από τη μία το θέλω, από την άλλη είναι ακριβό.
What does Από τη μία ..., από την άλλη ... mean?
It is a very common Greek pattern meaning on the one hand ..., on the other hand ....
In this sentence, it sets up a contrast:
- Από τη μία το θέλω = on the one hand, I want it
- από την άλλη είναι ακριβό = on the other hand, it’s expensive
Greek often uses this expression exactly the way English uses on the one hand / on the other hand.
Why is it τη μία in the first part, but την άλλη in the second?
This is about the accusative article τη(ν).
The full form is την, but in modern Greek the final -ν is often dropped before many consonants.
So:
- τη μία is natural because μία starts with μ
- την άλλη keeps the -ν because άλλη starts with a vowel
That is why you get:
- από τη μία
- από την άλλη
You may also hear απ’ τη μία in faster speech.
Why does the sentence use μία instead of μια?
Both are used in modern Greek.
- μία is the more fully written form
- μια is a very common simplified spelling
So these are both normal:
- Από τη μία
- Από τη μια
Likewise:
- μία μέρα
- μια μέρα
The meaning does not change.
What is το in το θέλω?
Το is the weak object pronoun meaning it.
So:
- θέλω = I want
- το θέλω = I want it
In this sentence, το refers to some thing already understood from context, such as an item, a product, a car, a phone, and so on.
Why does το come before θέλω? In English, it comes after want.
Because Greek object pronouns usually come before the finite verb.
So Greek says:
- το θέλω = literally it I-want
This is normal Greek word order for weak pronouns:
- τον βλέπω = I see him
- την ξέρω = I know her
- το θέλω = I want it
English puts the object after the verb, but Greek often places these short pronouns before it.
Could I say θέλω το instead?
No, not in normal Greek.
The weak pronoun το does not go after the verb in a sentence like this. You say:
- το θέλω
If you want a stronger, more emphatic form, you could use:
- θέλω αυτό = I want that / I want this one
But that is not the same as the usual clitic pronoun structure.
Why is there no subject pronoun like εγώ for I?
Greek often leaves subject pronouns out because the verb ending already shows the person.
Here:
- θέλω already means I want
So εγώ is unnecessary unless you want emphasis or contrast.
For example:
- Εγώ το θέλω = I want it
That sounds more emphatic, as if contrasting with someone else.
Why does the second part say just είναι ακριβό and not αυτό είναι ακριβό?
Greek frequently omits subjects when they are clear from context.
Here, the thing referred to by το in the first clause is still understood in the second clause, so Greek simply says:
- είναι ακριβό = it is expensive
You could say:
- αυτό είναι ακριβό
but that would be more explicit or emphatic, similar to saying that is expensive.
Why is it ακριβό and not ακριβός or ακριβή?
Because the thing being talked about is understood as neuter singular.
The pronoun in the first clause is το, which is neuter singular, so the adjective matches it:
- ακριβό = neuter singular
- ακριβός = masculine singular
- ακριβή = feminine singular
Examples:
- Ο υπολογιστής είναι ακριβός = The computer is expensive
- Η τσάντα είναι ακριβή = The bag is expensive
- Το κινητό είναι ακριβό = The phone is expensive
In your sentence, the noun is not repeated, but the neuter idea is still there.
Is ακριβό only expensive, or can it mean other things too?
Its most common meaning in a sentence like this is expensive.
Depending on context, ακριβός / ακριβή / ακριβό can also mean dear, precious, or even accurate/exact in some expressions, but here the natural meaning is clearly expensive.
So in this sentence:
- είναι ακριβό = it’s expensive
Is the expression Από τη μία ..., από την άλλη ... fixed, or can I change the word order?
It is a fairly fixed expression, so learners should treat it as a set phrase.
The standard pattern is:
- Από τη μία ..., από την άλλη ...
That is the most natural and idiomatic order.
You might hear small variations in real speech, but as a learner, this is the version to remember and use.
What is the role of από here? Does it literally mean from?
Yes, από normally means from, but in this expression it is part of an idiomatic phrase.
Word for word, από τη μία / από την άλλη looks like from the one / from the other, but you should not translate it literally here. As a whole, it means:
- on the one hand / on the other hand
So this is a good example of how a very common preposition can be part of a fixed idiomatic structure.
Can the comma be omitted?
In writing, the comma is natural and helpful because the sentence has two contrasting clauses:
- Από τη μία το θέλω, από την άλλη είναι ακριβό.
It marks a pause and makes the contrast clearer.
In speech, you would normally pause slightly there as well.
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