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When debating options—like whether to take public transit or drive to work—you need tools to organize your thoughts and contrast different points.

### On one hand... on the other

To weigh pros and cons, use **por un lado** (on one hand) and **por otro lado** (on the other hand). In everyday speech, it is very common to drop the second *lado* and just say **por otro**.

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You can also use the full phrase to clearly emphasize the contrast.

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### Expressing contrast with "en cambio"

When you want to show a direct contrast between two things, use **en cambio**. It translates closely to "however," "in contrast," or "on the other hand." Notice how it often follows a semicolon when separating two complete, contrasting thoughts.

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### Structuring a full argument

For a neatly structured argument, you can start your point with *por un lado* and introduce the opposing viewpoint with *en cambio*.

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Structuring arguments (por un lado..., en cambio)

adjective

adverb

auxiliary verb

conjunction

determiner

expression

interjection

noun

numeral

prep

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Subject pronouns and the verb to be (yo soy)

Noun gender and definite articles (el, la)

Basic sentences and negation (no)

Indefinite articles (un, una)

Formal and informal you (tú vs. usted)

Plural pronouns and the verb to be (somos, son)

Making nouns plural (-s, -es)

Plural articles (los, las, unos, unas)

Noun gender exceptions

Adjective agreement

Invariable adjectives

State and location (estar)

Ser vs. estar

There is / there are (hay)

Hay vs. estar

To have (tener)

Possession (de)

Possessive adjectives (mi, tu, su)

Regular -ar verbs

Yes/No questions

What and who (qué, quién)

Regular -er verbs

Regular -ir verbs

Asking where (dónde, adónde)

How, when, and why (cómo, cuándo, por qué)

How much and how many (cuánto)

Days of the week

Going to a place (ir a)

Preposition contractions (al, del)

In and by (en)

With me and with you (conmigo, contigo)

Prepositional pronouns (mí, ti)

Conjunctions (y, o, pero)

Giving reasons (porque)

Stem-changing verbs (e to ie)

Stem-changing verbs (o to ue)

Stem-changing verbs (e to i)

Irregular yo forms (hago, salgo)

To know (saber vs. conocer)

Weather expressions (hace, está)

Desires and plans (querer)

Ability and requests (poder)

Obligations (tener que)

Expressing likes (me gusta)

Plural likes (me gustan)

Verbs like gustar (encantar, doler)

Very vs. a lot (muy, mucho)

Numbers 0 to 15 (cero, uno, dos…)

Numbers 16 to 31 (dieciséis, veinte…)

Numbers 30 to 1000 (treinta, cien, mil)

Months of the year (enero, febrero, marzo)

Seasons and dates (el dos de mayo)

Telling time (es la..., son las...)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (primero, segundo, tercero)

Reflexive pronouns and verbs (me, te, se, nos)

Direct object pronouns (lo, la, los, las)

The near future (ir a)

The present continuous (estar + -ando, -iendo)

Near demonstrative adjectives (este, esta, estos, estas)

Medium demonstrative adjectives (ese, esa, esos, esas)

Comparatives of inequality (más / menos ... que)

Comparatives of equality (tan ... como)

Indefinite and negative pronouns (algo, nada, alguien, nadie)

Affirmative commands

Far demonstratives (aquel, aquella)

Possessive pronouns (el mío, el tuyo)

Shortened indefinite adjectives (algún, ningún)

Adverbs of quantity (demasiado, bastante)

Adverbs of frequency (a menudo, a veces)

Adverb formation (-mente)

Exclamations (¡Qué...!)

Irregular comparatives (mejor, peor, mayor, menor)

Relative superlatives (el más... de)

Adjective intensification (-ísimo)

Indirect object pronouns

Pronoun placement with infinitives

Double object pronouns (me lo, te la)

The 'se lo' rule (se lo, se la)

Impersonal statements (se)

Impersonal obligation (hay que)

Personal obligation (deber)

Starting actions (empezar a)

Finishing and quitting actions (terminar de, dejar de)

Repeating actions (volver a)

Continuing actions (seguir + gerundio)

Question	Answer
side	el lado
eco-friendly	ecológico
on the other hand / however (by contrast)	en cambio
to pollute	contaminar
On the one hand, the train is eco-friendly; however, the car pollutes a lot.	Por un lado, el tren es ecológico; en cambio, el carro contamina mucho.
journey / route	el trayecto
convenient	conveniente
On the one hand, the subway journey is very convenient.	Por un lado, el trayecto en metro es muy conveniente.
On the one hand I like driving, but on the other I hate traffic.	Por un lado me gusta manejar, pero por otro odio el tráfico.
fare / ticket (for travel)	el pasaje
The bus is cheap; on the other hand, the train fare will cost more.	El autobús es barato; en cambio, el pasaje del tren costará más.
fuel	el combustible
It is logical that we save fuel on each journey.	Es lógico que ahorremos combustible en cada trayecto.
disadvantage	la desventaja
On the one hand, a disadvantage of driving is using a lot of fuel.	Por un lado, una desventaja de manejar es gastar mucho combustible.
frequent	frecuente
Frequent trips by bicycle are eco-friendly; on the other hand, flying pollutes.	Los viajes frecuentes en bicicleta son ecológicos; en cambio, volar contamina.
It matters to them to arrive quickly; however, we prefer to walk.	A ellas les importa llegar rápido; en cambio, nosotros preferimos caminar.
It is incredible that modern trains do not pollute the city.	Es increíble que los trenes modernos no contaminen la ciudad.
On the one hand you will gain time, but on the other you will spend a lot.	Por un lado ganarás tiempo, pero por otro gastarás mucho.
The subway is convenient; however, the bus is slow because of traffic.	El metro es conveniente; en cambio, el autobús es lento por el tráfico.
We will save a lot of money on the long journey, right?	Ahorraremos mucho dinero en el trayecto largo, ¿no?
The train is frequent; in contrast, the fare is expensive.	El tren es frecuente; en cambio, el pasaje es caro.
On one hand, the car is fast; on the other hand, the disadvantage is the traffic.	Por un lado, el carro es rápido; por otro lado, la desventaja es el tráfico.
before, in the presence of (formal; ante todo = first of all)	ante
First of all, I want to say thank you.	Ante todo, quiero decir gracias.
We are facing a serious problem.	Estamos ante un problema serio.
in the first place, firstly	en primer lugar
In the first place, the house is very small.	En primer lugar, la casa es muy pequeña.
In the first place, one has to study.	En primer lugar, hay que estudiar.
next, then	a continuación
Next I will explain the problem.	A continuación explico el problema.
Next we are going to see the results.	A continuación vamos a ver los resultados.
in conclusion	en conclusión
In conclusion, the idea is good.	En conclusión, la idea es buena.
In conclusion, everything turned out well.	En conclusión, todo salió bien.
point of view	el punto de vista
His point of view is different.	Su punto de vista es diferente.
From my point of view, the idea is good.	Desde mi punto de vista, la idea es buena.