Possibles meanings to ~た方

Question

In phrase なかなか持った方じゃないか

What are all the possible meanings that it could have?

Is a praising phrase? Or a bullying one?

Answer 1

You need to understand “naka naka sentence” and “より~のほうが ~ (yori~no hou ga) two separately. The phrase often advises positive suggestions, but it also can use negative suggestions. It depends on the conversations too, so you have to understand the meaning from the sentence. The kanji for なかなか ( = nakanaka) is 中中 or 中々 but we usually use hiragana

As you can see the kanji　中 ( = naka) means inside, middle, 

JPN N5 Grammar: より~のほうが ~ (yori~no hou ga)

1. Detail explanation
2. Example sentences

Meaning: More than

Formation:

Noun 1 より　Noun 2 の方が　adjective

Verb-phrase 1 より　V-phrase 2 方が　adjective

い-adjective 1 より　い-adjective 2 方が　adjective

な-adjective 1 より　い-adjective 2 な方が　adjective

 

なかなか - Example Sentences

Meaning: Naka Naka

very; quite; pretty; rather; just not~ (nakanaka + Adj)

I like to watch Wonder woman.  

nakanaka omoshiro sou desu.= Sounds quite interesting.

How about Star Wars or The Wonder Woman, which movie is better to watch?

Then you can use “なかなか” 

ワンダーウーマンの方がスターウォーズよりなかなか面白い映画だった。

= Wonder Woman NO Hou Ga, Star Wars yori, Nakanaka omoshiroi eiga datta.

= The Wonder woman was quite an interesting movie more than Star Wars.

Also it sometimes adds the feeling that something was nicer than what you had expected. Hope this helps! 

 

Answer 2

It depends on the situation. The phrase originally means "It stayed (or kept) longer than I expected." It is a praising phrase.

For example, you quit your part-time job in three month and your parents says:

"3か月で辞めたの？ま、なかなか持った方じゃないか。”

(Did you quit the job in three month? Well, you kept it longer than I expected."

In this conversation, the parents praised their child because s/he kept the job longer than they expected.