På den ene siden mødrekvoten; på den andre siden medmorkvoten.

On the one hand, the mother's quota; on the other hand, the co-mother's quota.

Breakdown of På den ene siden mødrekvoten; på den andre siden medmorkvoten.

• på den ene siden ... på den andre siden ...: on the one hand ... on the other hand ...
• mødrekvoten: the mother's quota
• medmorkvoten: the co-mother's quota

Questions & Answers about På den ene siden mødrekvoten; på den andre siden medmorkvoten.

What does på den ene siden ... på den andre siden mean in Norwegian grammar and style?

It is a fixed contrast pattern meaning on the one side ... on the other side, often very close to English on the one hand ... on the other hand.

In this example, it is not really making a full argument; it is just setting up a contrast between two categories:

• mødrekvoten
• medmorkvoten

So the structure is doing the job of framing two opposing or parallel items.

Why is it den ene and den andre, not just ene and andre?

Because the noun side is part of a definite phrase here.

The pattern is:

• den ene siden
• den andre siden

In Norwegian, when an adjective comes before a definite noun, you usually get:

• a definite article like den
• the adjective in its definite/weak form
• the noun in definite form

So this is a standard definite noun phrase:

• den ene siden
• den andre siden

It is best to learn den ene ... den andre ... as a set expression.

Why is it siden with -en at the end?