Breakdown of С одной стороны, лупа новая, с другой стороны, она плохая.
она
she / it (for a feminine noun)
новый
new
плохой
bad
один
one
другой
other
сторона
side
с
off / down from (a surface)
лупа
magnifier
Questions & Answers about С одной стороны, лупа новая, с другой стороны, она плохая.
Why does the Russian phrase use с instead of на for "on the one hand"?
The Russian idiom translates literally as "from one side" and "from the other side." Because the preposition с here means "from," it requires the Genitive case, changing the Nominative одна сторона to the Genitive одной стороны.
Is одной considered a collective numeral in this lesson's context?
No, один (and its feminine form одна) is a standard cardinal numeral that declines like an adjective. Collective numerals, which you are studying in this lesson, are words like двое (a group of two) or трое. This sentence is a helpful review of standard Genitive feminine declension before you tackle the oblique cases of true collective numerals.
Can I use с другой стороны by itself, or must it always follow с одной стороны?
Just like in English, you can use с другой стороны (on the other hand) completely on its own to introduce a contrasting point, without needing to say с одной стороны beforehand.
Why is плохая in the Nominative case instead of agreeing with стороны?
Плохая describes лупа (the magnifier), not стороны (the sides/hands). The sentence has two distinct clauses. In the second clause, она (referring to the magnifier) is the subject, so the adjective плохая must be in the Nominative case to match it.
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