El científico parece un genio.

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Breakdown of El científico parece un genio.

• parecer: to seem
• el científico: the scientist
• el genio: the genius

Questions & Answers about El científico parece un genio.

Why is there el before científico?

Because el científico means the scientist: it is a specific person being talked about.

Here, científico is being used as a noun: scientist.

• el científico = the scientist
• un científico = a scientist

So El científico parece un genio is talking about a particular scientist, not just any scientist.

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Why is there un before genio?

Because genio here is a singular countable noun, and in Spanish you normally need an article with that kind of noun.

So:

• Es un genio = He/She is a genius
• Parece un genio = He/She seems like a genius

Leaving out un would sound wrong in standard Spanish.

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Why does the sentence use parece instead of es?

Parecer means to seem or to appear. It expresses an impression, not a definite fact.

So there is a difference between:

• El científico parece un genio = he gives the impression of being a genius
• El científico es un genio = he really is a genius

For learners, this is an important contrast:

• ser = is
• parecer = seems

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