Learn Hardcore German: Die Schauspielerin liebt ihre Rolle, obwohl sie sehr anstrengend ist. - The actress loves her role, although it is very exhausting.

The base noun is Schauspieler = actor.
Adding -in makes it explicitly feminine: Schauspieler → Schauspielerin.
The article die is used because:
- the noun is grammatically feminine, and
- it is in the nominative singular (subject of the sentence).

So:

die Schauspielerin = the (female) actress
der Schauspieler = the (male) actor

Why is it ihre Rolle and not ihr Rolle or seine Rolle?

The possessive ihr- means her (or their/“its”, depending on context), but its ending must agree with the noun it describes, not with the person owning it.

The owner is the actress (3rd person singular feminine) → base form: ihr- (her).
The possessed noun is Rolle:
- feminine
- singular
- accusative (direct object)

For feminine accusative singular, the correct ending is -e:

ihre Rolle = her role (correct)
ihr Rolle = wrong ending here
seine Rolle would mean his role (or “its role” for a masculine/neuter thing).

So it’s ihre Rolle because Rolle is feminine accusative singular.

In the obwohl-clause, who does sie refer to: the actress or the role?

Grammatically, sie can refer to either:

die Schauspielerin (feminine singular)
die Rolle (also feminine singular)

Both are feminine singular, so the pronoun sie looks the same.

You decide from context which is more logical:

obwohl sie sehr anstrengend ist
→ most likely refers to die Rolle, because we commonly say that a role is “anstrengend” (demanding/exhausting).

If you want to remove ambiguity, you can repeat the noun:

… obwohl die Rolle sehr anstrengend ist.
… obwohl die Schauspielerin sehr anstrengend ist.

Both sentences are grammatically correct but have different meanings.

Why is the verb ist at the end of the clause obwohl sie sehr anstrengend ist?

Obwohl is a subordinating conjunction. In German, subordinating conjunctions (like weil, dass, wenn, obwohl) push the conjugated verb to the end of the clause.

Compare:

Independent clause: Sie ist sehr anstrengend.
(normal word order: subject – verb – rest)
With obwohl: obwohl sie sehr anstrengend ist
(same words, but the verb now comes last)

So the pattern is:

obwohl
- subject + rest + verb (conjugated) at the end.

Can I also put the obwohl-clause at the beginning of the sentence?

Yes. Both orders are correct:

Die Schauspielerin liebt ihre Rolle, obwohl sie sehr anstrengend ist.
Obwohl sie sehr anstrengend ist, liebt die Schauspielerin ihre Rolle.

When the obwohl-clause comes first, the verb of the main clause (liebt) still has to be in second position of that main clause. That’s why we say:

…, liebt die Schauspielerin ihre Rolle.
and not: …, die Schauspielerin liebt ihre Rolle. (incorrect word order in standard German)

Why is there a comma before obwohl?

In German, you must put a comma between a main clause and a subordinate clause.

Main clause: Die Schauspielerin liebt ihre Rolle
Subordinate clause: obwohl sie sehr anstrengend ist

These two clauses are separated by a comma:

Die Schauspielerin liebt ihre Rolle, obwohl sie sehr anstrengend ist.

This is not optional in standard written German; the comma is required.

What does anstrengend mean exactly, and how is it different from schwierig or schwer?

anstrengend means tiring, exhausting, demanding — something that costs a lot of energy (physically or mentally).

Typical examples:

ein anstrengender Tag – a tiring day
eine anstrengende Rolle – a demanding role
ein anstrengender Job – a draining job

Differences:

anstrengend: focuses on effort / exhaustion (you get tired from it).
schwierig / schwer: focuses on difficulty (it is hard to do or understand).

Something can be:

anstrengend but not very schwierig:
A long shift doing simple tasks can be exhausting but not technically difficult.
schwierig but not so anstrengend:
A tricky chess puzzle might be hard to solve but not physically or emotionally draining.

In the sentence, the idea is that the role demands a lot from the actress.

Is sehr necessary here, and where do intensifiers like sehr go in a German sentence?

sehr means very. It’s not grammatically required but adds emphasis.

Without: … obwohl sie anstrengend ist. – although it is tiring.
With: … obwohl sie sehr anstrengend ist. – although it is very tiring.

Placement:

sehr goes directly before the adjective or adverb it modifies:
- sehr anstrengend
- sehr interessant
- sehr schnell

You normally don’t split sehr from its adjective:

correct: Sie ist sehr anstrengend.
not: Sie ist anstrengend sehr.

How is liebt formed, and what are the present tense forms of lieben?

liebt is the 3rd person singular present tense of lieben (to love).

lieben is a regular verb. Present tense:

ich liebe – I love
du liebst – you love (informal singular)
er/sie/es liebt – he/she/it loves
wir lieben – we love
ihr liebt – you love (informal plural)
sie/Sie lieben – they / you (formal) love

In the sentence, the subject is die Schauspielerin (she), so we use:

sie liebt → Die Schauspielerin liebt …

Why is the word order in the main clause Die Schauspielerin liebt ihre Rolle and not something like Die Schauspielerin ihre Rolle liebt?

In a simple German main clause, the basic neutral word order is:

Subject – Verb – (objects/other information)

So:

Die Schauspielerin (subject)
liebt (conjugated verb)
ihre Rolle (direct object)

→ Die Schauspielerin liebt ihre Rolle.

You can move elements for emphasis (especially in spoken language), but you must still keep the finite verb in second position overall.
For beginners, it’s safest to stick to this basic pattern in simple statements:

Subjekt – Verb – Objekt → Die Schauspielerin liebt ihre Rolle.

Could I use trotzdem instead of obwohl? How would the sentence change?

You can express a similar idea with trotzdem, but the structure changes.

obwohl introduces a subordinate clause:
- Die Rolle ist sehr anstrengend, obwohl die Schauspielerin sie liebt.
- Die Schauspielerin liebt ihre Rolle, obwohl sie sehr anstrengend ist.
trotzdem is an adverb used in a main clause, not a conjunction:
- Die Rolle ist sehr anstrengend. Trotzdem liebt die Schauspielerin sie.

Notice:

With obwohl: one sentence with a main + subordinate clause.
With trotzdem: usually two main clauses (often written as two sentences, or joined with a comma + coordinating conjunction if you want).

You cannot simply replace obwohl with trotzdem in the original structure:

Die Schauspielerin liebt ihre Rolle, trotzdem sie sehr anstrengend ist.
→ wrong or at least very archaic in modern German.