Questions & Answers about Алмаз — самый твёрдый камень.
Why is there a dash (—) after Алмаз?
In Russian, when both the subject (алмаз) and the predicate (камень) are nouns in the nominative case, a long dash is required. It essentially replaces the missing present tense of the verb to be (is/are).
Can I use the single-word superlative твердейший instead of самый твёрдый?
You can, but самый твёрдый is the standard, neutral way to make a superlative for this word. The suffix-based form твердейший sounds more literary. Also, forms ending in -ейший often translate more like an extremely hard stone rather than strictly the hardest one.
Does твёрдый also mean hard in the sense of being difficult?
No, твёрдый refers to physical hardness, firmness, or being in a solid state. If you want to say something is hard meaning difficult, you should use трудный or сложный.
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