Difficult vs Requiring a lot of effort vs Hard

Question

Is there a difference between Difficult, Requiring a lot of effort, and hard?

Let's take these examples:

1. "Getting into Stanford is hard."

2. "Getting into Stanford requires a lot of effort."

3. Getting into Stanford is difficult."

I believe (1) and (3) are the exact same, while (2) is different? I'm not too sure why.

1. "This math problem was so hard, it took me 30 minutes to do it."

2. "This math problem required a lot of effort, it took me 30 minutes to do it."

3. "This math problem was so difficult, it took me 30 minutes to do it."

All 3 are the same, I think?

1. "This math problem was so hard, I didn't know how to do it."

2. "This math problem required a lot of effort, I didn't know how to do it."

3. "This math problem was so difficult, it took me 30 minutes to do it."

(1) and (3) make sense, while (2) doesnt.

I feel like "effort" relates to how much time and activity you put in it, while difficult relates to "skill" or "effort"? And "hard" can relate to either (effort or difficult)?

If anyone can clearly explain it to me that would be great.

Anonymous · Accepted Answer

I believe (1) and (3) are the exact same, while (2) is different? I'm not too sure why.

I think so, too. Filling out a few forms, attending an interview, and writing a letter does not amount to much effort. By the time you apply for college, you've already put your effort in trying to get good grades.

All 3 are the same, I think?

Not really. More so than your first set, though. I don't think of solving math problems as involving effort, per se. By the way, the comma is wrong because the sentences are equivalent to "This math problem was so hard that it took me …."

(1) and (3) make sense, while (2) doesnt.

I think you messed up the cut-and-paste there (and that comma has to go). Number three should be "This math problem was so difficult I didn't know how to do it." With that correction:

Number two is a comma splice. But ignoring that, yes, it does not make sense because if you didn't know how to do it, you never had the chance to expend any effort on it. There is a similar problem of sense with 1 and 3. Your ignorance of the procedure for solving the problem has no bearing on its difficulty. And if you only mean that it was hard for you, then "hard" is too small. It was not hard. It was impossible. "This problem was impossible. I didn't know how to do it."

Difficult vs Requiring a lot of effort vs Hard

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