ça/sa/
pronoun · A1 · Frequency 35
pronouncommon
Meanings
this; that
Demonstrative pronoun, commonly used in spoken language. In speech it can replace ce before être outside the present, as in ça sera.
it; that (generic)
Used to refer to indefinite or generic noun phrases.
Examples
Ça, c'est mon dossier.
This is my file.
Ça sera plus simple demain.
It will be simpler tomorrow.
Je n'ai pas compris ça.
I did not understand that.
Ça semble impossible de finir avant midi.
It seems impossible to finish before noon.
Collocations
- ça va(informal) how's it going
- c'est çathat's it
- ça marcheit works, no problem
Common mistakes
Ça est une bonne idée.
C'est une bonne idée.
In standard French, ça is not normally placed directly before être; to say “this is a good idea,” use c'est rather than ça est.
Related words
- synonymcelademonstrative pronoun meaning 'this' or 'that'
antonymcela nenegative form meaning 'not that'
Grammar note
‘ça’ serves as an alternative subject pronoun for the verb être in tenses other than present and imperfect indicative; as a demonstrative pronoun meaning ‘this’ or ‘that’; and as a dummy pronoun used as a formal subject.