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Questions & Answers about Der Tisch ist schwer.
Why is it Der and not Die or Das?
In German, nouns have a grammatical gender. Tisch (table) is a masculine noun, so it takes the masculine article der. Other nouns might be feminine (die) or neuter (das).
What does schwer mean here?
Here, schwer means heavy (as in weight). It can also mean difficult in other contexts, but in this sentence, the meaning is strictly about weight.
Why is the verb ist used?
Ist is the third-person singular form of sein (to be). Der Tisch is a singular third-person subject, so we use ist instead of forms like bin, bist, or sind.
Could I say Der Tisch wiegt viel instead?
Yes, you could say Der Tisch wiegt viel (The table weighs a lot) for a similar meaning. However, the sentence Der Tisch ist schwer is more direct when describing weight using the adjective schwer.
How do I pronounce schwer correctly?
The sch in schwer is pronounced as the “sh” sound in English ship. The w is like an English v, and the -er at the end is pronounced a bit like the “air” in “fair” but in a more muted German way.
Is schwer always spelled the same in all its forms?
When using schwer as an adjective, it does undergo some changes in endings depending on case, gender, and number. For example: ein schwerer Tisch (a heavy table - masculine nominative). But the core spelling schwer remains the same; you just add or adjust the endings as needed for grammatical agreement.