Language/French/Grammar/Comparing-neutral-ce,-cela,-ça-with-personal-il-ils-and-elle-elles

Comparing neutral ce, cela, ça with personal il/ils and elle/elles

il/ils and elle/elles refer to people and things (both concrete and abstract), ce, cela, ça refer to events, actions, states or general classes of phenomena.

Compare:

• C'est bon, le vin

Wine is good

(refers to wine in general)

• Il est bon, le vin

The wine is good

(refers to a specific example of wine)

• C'est lourd, cette valise

This suitcase is heavy

(implies that it is heavy to carry)

• Elle est lourde, cette valise

This suitcase is heavy

(refers to the object itself)

• J'adore m'occuper des enfants. C'est si câlin à cet âge-là

I love looking after children. They're so cuddly when they're that age (ce referring to small children in general)

• J'adore m'occuper de tes enfants. Ils sont si câlins

I love looking after your children. They're so cuddly (referring to specific small children)

In informal spoken French many speakers use ça where il/ils, elle/elles are used in more formal spoken and written French:

• J'ai astiqué mes casseroles. Regardez comme ça brille!

I gave my pans a scrub. Look how shiny they are!

• Les pintades, ça couche souvent dehors

Guinea-fowl often sleep outside

• Tu sais, ces gens-là, ça boit

You know, those people, they like their drink

NB: Because this usage is regarded as a feature of informal spoken French, the foreign learner should avoid using it in the written language.

Related Lessons

• Differences in the use of numbers in French and English mille milliers milliards
• Indefinite and negative noun phrases with adjective complements
• “être” and “avoir” with verbs used intransitively and transitively
• Masculine and feminine forms of adjectives — A change from a nasal vowel to an oral vowel
• Use of ce, cela, ça as neutral pronouns
• Easy future
• Subject verb agreement — Verb agreement with collective noun subjects
• Pronominal verbs used as passives
• French Ditransitive verbs
• Compound adjectives involving demi—, nu— and mi—
• Grammatical and real number
• Use of on
• Adverbs
• Marked use of tu
• Adverbs ending in —amment and —eminent derived from adjectives ending in —ant or —ent