Breakdown of Die schriftliche Aufgabe war sehr schwer.
sein
to be
sehr
very
die Aufgabe
the task
schwer
heavy / severe, serious
schriftlich
written, in writing
Questions & Answers about Die schriftliche Aufgabe war sehr schwer.
Why does schriftliche end in an -e here?
Aufgabe is a feminine noun in the nominative case because it is the subject of the sentence. Since it follows the definite article die, the adjective schriftlich takes the weak ending -e.
What is the difference between schwer and schwierig? Could I use schwierig here?
Yes, you could absolutely say sehr schwierig here. Both words can mean difficult or hard when talking about a task or test. However, schwer can also mean heavy when referring to weight, whereas schwierig only ever means difficult or complicated.
How does the adjective schriftlich relate to the verb for writing?
It comes from the noun die Schrift (the script or handwriting), which is rooted in the verb schreiben (to write). The suffix -lich is often added to German nouns to turn them into adjectives, much like -ly or -al in English.
Why does the sentence use war instead of the spoken past tense ist gewesen?
While you could technically say ist sehr schwer gewesen, native speakers almost always prefer the simple past form war for the verbs sein (to be) and haben (to have). This is true even in casual spoken German where the perfect tense is normally used for most other verbs.
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