Das Sprechen im Kurs fällt mir noch schwer.

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Breakdown of Das Sprechen im Kurs fällt mir noch schwer.

• dem: the; (masculine or neuter, dative)
• noch: still (up to now)
• mir: me

Questions & Answers about Das Sprechen im Kurs fällt mir noch schwer.

Why is Sprechen capitalized here, and what does das Sprechen mean?

Sprechen is capitalized because it is being used as a noun, not as a verb.
German often turns infinitive verbs into nouns to talk about the activity in general.

• sprechen = to speak (verb)
• das Sprechen = speaking / the act of speaking (noun)

So das Sprechen im Kurs means speaking in class or the act of speaking in the course.

Why do we have das before Sprechen? Is it just the definite article “the”?

Yes, das is the neuter definite article “the”, but here it’s also a signal that an infinitive is being used as a noun.

Infinitives used as nouns in German are always neuter and usually take das:

• das Essen – eating / the food
• das Lesen – reading
• das Sprechen – speaking

So das Sprechen = “the speaking” → more naturally in English: speaking.

What does fällt … schwer literally mean, and why is fallen used to express difficulty?