Learn French: C'est une romancière belge. - She is a Belgian novelist.

C'est une romancière belge.

She is a Belgian novelist.

Breakdown of C'est une romancière belge.

Questions & Answers about C'est une romancière belge.

Why do we use C'est here instead of Elle est?

This is the core rule for describing professions! Because the profession (romancière) is modified by an adjective (belge), you must use C'est une followed by the noun. If you were just stating her profession without the nationality, you would drop the article and use Elle est: Elle est romancière.

Why isn't belge capitalized, since it's a nationality?

In French, nationalities are only capitalized when they act as nouns referring to people (like une Belge meaning a Belgian woman). When used as an adjective modifying a noun, as it is here, it must be lowercase.

Would the word belge change if we were talking about a male novelist?

No, it would stay exactly the same. Because the masculine form of belge already ends in an -e, you don't add another one for the feminine form. A male Belgian novelist is un romancier belge.

Does romancière mean something related to Rome?

No, it's a classic false friend. The French word for a novel is un roman, which makes une romancière a novelist. If you want to describe someone from Rome, the word is romain or romaine.