Breakdown of Качество намного хуже, зато цена меня устраивает.
я
I
цена
price
намного
much, by far
хуже
worse
качество
quality
зато
but on the other hand
устраивать
to suit (imperfective)
Questions & Answers about Качество намного хуже, зато цена меня устраивает.
Why use зато instead of just но (but)?
While но just states a contrast, зато specifically introduces a compensation or a silver lining. It means "but on the other hand" or "but at least". In this sentence, the bad quality is directly compensated for by the good price.
Why do we use намного before хуже, rather than just много?
To say "much" or "a lot" before a comparative adjective like хуже (worse), you need to use намного or гораздо. You cannot use много, which is mostly used to describe quantities (a lot of items) or to modify verbs.
I thought устраивать meant "to arrange". How does it mean "suits" here?
You are right about its literal meaning! But in everyday Russian, it is very commonly used idiomatically to mean "to suit", "to be acceptable", or "to work for" someone. If a situation, time, or price is good for you, you say it устраивает you.
Why is меня used here instead of the dative case мне?
In English, we might think "the price is acceptable to me", which makes the dative case tempting. However, the Russian verb устраивать takes a direct object in the accusative case. The price directly acts upon you, so you must use меня.
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