Breakdown of С одной стороны, это хорошо, с другой стороны, трудно.
этот
this [f: эта, n: это]
хорошо
well
с одной стороны ..., с другой стороны
on the one hand ... on the other hand
трудно
it is hard, difficult
Questions & Answers about С одной стороны, это хорошо, с другой стороны, трудно.
Why are there commas right after стороны in both halves of the sentence?
In Russian, phrases like с одной стороны (on the one hand) and с другой стороны (on the other hand) act as introductory words that structure the text. Russian punctuation rules require that introductory phrases always be separated from the rest of the sentence by commas.
What case is used in the phrase с одной стороны, and why?
It uses the genitive case. The preposition с can take different cases depending on its meaning, but when it means 'from' or is used in perspective phrases like 'from one side' (which translates to 'on the one hand'), it requires the genitive case. Therefore, the nominative одна сторона becomes одной стороны.
Can I drop the second стороны and just say с другой, трудно?
Yes! Just like in English where you can say 'on the one hand... on the other...', Russians very often drop the second стороны to make the sentence flow faster. Both versions are perfectly natural.
Why isn't это repeated before трудно in the second half?
Russian frequently drops pronouns and implied verbs when they are already understood from the immediate context. Since the subject это was established in the first clause, repeating it before the second predicative adverb (трудно) is unnecessary and would sound a bit repetitive.