Dieser Versuch ist schwer.

to be

Breakdown of Dieser Versuch ist schwer.

• dieser: this
• schwer: difficult
• der Versuch: the attempt

Questions & Answers about Dieser Versuch ist schwer.

Why is it dieser and not dieses or diesen?

Dieser is the masculine nominative singular form of the demonstrative determiner dies- (this).

• Versuch is a masculine noun: der Versuch.
• In this sentence, Versuch is the subject of the sentence, so it is in the nominative case.
• For a masculine noun in the nominative singular, dies- becomes dieser.

Other forms of dies- for comparison:

• Masculine:
  
  • Nominative: dieser Versuch – this attempt/experiment (as subject)
  • Accusative: diesen Versuch – this attempt/experiment (as direct object)
• Neuter:
  
  • Nominative/Accusative: dieses Problem – this problem
• Feminine:
  
  • Nominative/Accusative: diese Frage – this question
• Plural (all genders):
  
  • Nominative/Accusative: diese Versuche – these attempts/experiments

So in Dieser Versuch ist schwer, dieser is correct because Versuch is masculine and functions as the subject.

What exactly does Versuch mean? Is it “attempt” or “experiment”?