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She is a genius.

How to say this in French? If "genius" were a profession, we would say

Elle est génie.

But since "genius" is not a profession, I think we need an article. But I'm not sure whether we should say

Elle est un génie.

or

C'est un génie.

Also, how can we translate the same sentence but with the pronouns "I" or "you"?

I am a genius.

You are a genius.

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2 Answers 2

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Since genie is a noun and it is not a profession we need an article.So,we should say C'est un genie,also because we can't use an indefinite article after il est /elle est.

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  • Thank you. How can we translate "I am a genius" or "You are a genius" then? I don't think we can still say "C'est un génie"?
    – user11550
    Jan 4, 2017 at 6:16
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    "C'est" is used to present another person instead of il/elle est,so I think we can say "Tu es un genie" or "Je suis un genie".
    – Christina S.
    Jan 4, 2017 at 6:22
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    I don't think "elle est un génie" would be wrong. It's maybe more literary. Still, "c'est" is used in 99 % of cases, of course.
    – Destal
    Jan 4, 2017 at 9:09
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Pour répondre à la deuxième moitié de la question, quand on dit

X est un génie.

ou

C'est un génie.

on veut plutôt dire que quelqu'un est très intelligent. Mais quand on dit

Tu es un génie.

on fait généralement référence à un fait précis, plus qu'à l'intelligence de la personne en général. Plutôt synonyme de

Ton idée est géniale.

(Ou bien il s'agit de sarcasme, signifiant "Tu te prends pour un génie.")

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