Questions & Answers about Geistige Aufgaben helfen sehr.
How does geistige translate to "mental" if der Geist usually means "ghost" or "spirit"?
While der Geist is often translated as "ghost" or "spirit" in beginner contexts, it also fundamentally means "mind" or "intellect". Therefore, the adjective geistig is the standard way to express "mental" or "intellectual" in German, just like in geistige Gesundheit (mental health).
Why does the adjective geistige end in just -e here?
Because there is no article (like die or meine) in front of the plural noun Aufgaben, the adjective has to do the heavy lifting to show the grammatical case. This is called strong declension. For a noun in the nominative plural, the strong ending is simply -e.
This lesson is about the Absolute Comparative. How could we use one in this sentence to say "rather difficult mental tasks"?
You could add a comparative adjective before the noun, like schwerere (more difficult). In German, you don't always need to compare two things directly (using als). When a comparative is used on its own, it forms an "absolute comparative" to mean "rather" or "fairly". So, schwerere geistige Aufgaben translates to "rather difficult mental tasks".
Can we use helfen without mentioning who is being helped?