Breakdown of ¡La leyenda dice que el héroe es un genio!
ser
to be
un
a, an (masculine)
que
that / than
la
the (feminine)
decir
to say, to tell
el genio
the genie
la leyenda
the legend
el héroe
the hero
Questions & Answers about ¡La leyenda dice que el héroe es un genio!
Does genio mean both "genius" and "genie"?
Yes! In Spanish, genio can refer to a "genius" (a highly intelligent person) or a "genie" (a magical being). You have to rely on context to know which one is meant here.
Since the sentence uses dice que (says that), shouldn't the next verb be in the subjunctive (sea instead of es)?
Not in this case. When decir (to say/tell) is used to report a fact or share information, it is followed by the normal indicative mood (es). It only triggers the subjunctive when it is used to give an order or command (for example, if the legend told the hero to be something).
Why does héroe have an accent mark?
Why do we need the article un before genio? I thought we dropped it after es.
You do usually drop the indefinite article (un/una) for professions, religions, or nationalities (like él es médico). However, a genie is considered a specific type of entity or mythical creature rather than a human profession, so we keep the un.
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