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Eine Entscheidung ist oft schwierig.

Eine Entscheidung ist oft schwierig.
A decision is often difficult.
FromLesson 15inHardcore German
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Breakdown of Eine Entscheidung ist oft schwierig.

sein
to be
oft
often
schwierig
difficult
die Entscheidung
the decision
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“How do German cases work?”
German has four grammatical cases: nominative (subject), accusative (direct object), dative (indirect object), and genitive (possession). The case determines the form of articles and adjectives. For example, "the dog" is "der Hund" as a subject but "den Hund" as a direct object.

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Questions & Answers about Eine Entscheidung ist oft schwierig.

Why is Entscheidung preceded by eine instead of die or omitted?
  • Entscheidung is a feminine noun in the singular, and when you make a general statement about “one decision,” German uses the indefinite article eine (nominative feminine).
  • If you wanted to speak about decisions in general (plural), you would drop the article: Entscheidungen sind oft schwierig.
Why doesn’t schwierig have an ending like in eine schwierige Entscheidung?
  • Here schwierig is used predicatively (after the verb ist), and predicative adjectives in German are not inflected.
  • In contrast, attributive adjectives (those placed directly before a noun) do take endings: e.g. eine schwierige Entscheidung.
Why is oft placed between ist and schwierig rather than at the beginning?
  • German main clauses follow the “verb-second” (V2) rule: the finite verb (ist) must occupy the second position.
  • The subject (Eine Entscheidung) is first, the verb is second, and adverbs like oft fill the “middle field” before other sentence elements.
  • You can also front oft for emphasis: Oft ist eine Entscheidung schwierig.
How can I tell that Entscheidung is feminine?
In German, virtually all nouns ending in -ung are feminine. Whenever you see a noun like die Entscheidung, die Änderung, or die Meinung, you can be sure it’s feminine and takes die (definite) or eine (indefinite) in the singular.
Could I use schwer instead of schwierig? Do they mean the same?
  • Both translate as “difficult,” but there’s a subtle nuance:
    • schwierig often highlights complexity or tricky aspects (“a complicated matter”).
    • schwer can also mean “heavy,” so it’s broader (“hard,” “heavy”).
  • In everyday speech, you can usually say Eine Entscheidung ist oft schwer. without misunderstanding.
Are there alternative ways to express “It’s often difficult to make a decision” in German?

Yes. Some common variants:

  • Es ist oft schwierig, eine Entscheidung zu treffen.
  • Sich zu entscheiden ist oft schwierig.
  • Plural version: Entscheidungen sind oft schwierig.
  • Word‑order variant: Oft ist eine Entscheidung schwierig.