קשה להעריך את הזמן.

direct object marker

Breakdown of קשה להעריך את הזמן.

• זמן: time
• קשה: difficult
• להעריך: to estimate; assess

Questions & Answers about קשה להעריך את הזמן.

Why is there no word for it in this sentence?

Hebrew often leaves out the dummy subject it that English requires.

So:

• קשה להעריך את הזמן literally = hard to estimate the time naturally in English = It’s hard to estimate the time

The word קשה (hard/difficult) can start an impersonal statement like this without any separate subject.

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Why is קשה in the masculine singular form?

In sentences like this, קשה is often used in an impersonal way, so Hebrew uses the basic masculine singular form.

Here it does not really describe a noun like task or job. Instead, it functions like:

• It is difficult to...

So קשה stays in the default form:

• masculine singular: קשה

If you were describing an actual feminine noun, for example, it would change:

• המשימה קשה = The task is difficult

But in קשה להעריך את הזמן, it is just the standard impersonal pattern.

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What is the function of להעריך here?