Hi John,
it is simply 'that' which in French has to appear (unlike English) and links the two sentences together -
'...because it was three in the morning and ( that) it prevented him from sleeping!'
Hope this helps!
Look at these sentences using ça:
Oh! J'ai regardé ça aussi hier.
Oh! I watched that too yesterday.
La grammaire française ? Je trouve ça trop difficile !
French grammar? I find that too hard!
Ça me dérange quand on fume à côté de moi.
It bothers me when people smoke next to me.
The pronoun ça is a contraction of cela, but it is used much more frequently, particularly in speech or informal writing.
Depending on the context, ça can mean it, this or that.
When referring to something in general, even if the thing is plural, ça is used and followed by the singular form:
Les lasagnes? J'adore ça!
Lasagna? I love it!
Les probabilités, ça m'énerve !
Probabilities get on my nerves!
See also the more advanced C'est vs il/elle est: Saying it is
Learn more about these related French grammar topics
Examples and resources
Les probabilités, ça m'énerve !
Probabilities get on my nerves!
Ça me dérange quand on fume à côté de moi.
It bothers me when people smoke next to me.
Les lasagnes? J'adore ça!
Lasagna? I love it!
Oh! J'ai regardé ça aussi hier.
Oh! I watched that too yesterday.
La grammaire française ? Je trouve ça trop difficile !
French grammar? I find that too hard!
Q&A Forum 11 questions, 18 answers
In the writing challenge "Reaing Lord of the Ring", and it was preventing him from sleeping was translated as et que ca l'empechait de dormir.Why que?
Asked 3 months ago
John asked:View original
In the writing challenge "Reaing Lord of the Ring", and it was preventing him from sleeping was translated as et que ca l'empechait de dormir.Why que?
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What is the difference between ce vs ça? Considering the fact, that they both mean that, this and it?
Asked 4 months ago
MlleCorrect answer
"Ce" means "this/that" as in "this boy " or "this/that month" . You would say "ce garçon" or "ce mois." This is a demonstrative pronoun, pointing out which one you're talking about -- that one.
The "this" or "that" represented by "ça" is more of a standalone "this/that."
I know that : "Je sais ça." I'm using that! "J'utilise ça!"
French asked:View original
What is the difference between ce vs ça? Considering the fact, that they both mean that, this and it?
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J'adore ça vs. J'ladore. I still don't understand the difference.
Are there any more examples you could give us? I used the direct object le with the apostrophe and it was marked wrong. How can we tell what word should be accented? Is ça always correct as opposed to le, la? In other words, are there certain times when the direct object must be before the verb or certain times when it has to be after the verb? Thank you.
Asked 4 months ago
Without the context it is difficult to say for certain but normally 'le' and the verb 'adorer' will be used for a person rather than a thing...
You will use 'ça' with foodstuff -
Vous aimez les épinards? oui, j'adore ça
Vous aimez Georges Clooney? oui, je l'adore
Hope this helps!
CécileKwiziq language super star
Hi Joanne,
Your apostrophe is in the wrong place, could that be your error?
It should be -
Je l'adore
Hello, yes I realize that my apostrophe is in the wrong place here, but it wasn't in the wrong place when I answered the question. Can you please explain the difference between ça and le. Why would "Je l'adore" be marked wrong?
Joanne asked:View original
J'adore ça vs. J'ladore. I still don't understand the difference.
Are there any more examples you could give us? I used the direct object le with the apostrophe and it was marked wrong. How can we tell what word should be accented? Is ça always correct as opposed to le, la? In other words, are there certain times when the direct object must be before the verb or certain times when it has to be after the verb? Thank you.
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Hi The,
If you look at the following lesson, it will explain when to use the demonstrative adjective 'ce' (note no cedilla).
Ça is the contraction of 'cela' and it is explained in the lesson you bookmarked.
Hope this helps!
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In the sentence".....quand on fume....". "On" is translated as "people", I thought that "on" was singular.
Asked 9 months ago
Hi Roy,
If you take a look at the following Kwiziq lesson, you will see the different uses of 'on' and their equivalence in English , one of which being 'people'-
https://progress.lawlessfrench.com/revision/grammar/on-can-mean-we-one-and-people
Hope this helps!
Roy asked:View original
In the sentence".....quand on fume....". "On" is translated as "people", I thought that "on" was singular.
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Bonjour Malik !
Thanks to your feedback, I've now updated the lesson to make the note clearer :)
I hope that's helpful!
Bonne journée !
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ça vs celui/celle-là
In this lesson why was ça preferred over celui-là?
Thanks - Nora
Asked 1 year ago
Hi Nora,
Celui/Celle-là mean 'that one ' , when you are comparing two things and highlight one of them.
Ça is the contraction of Cela meaning simply (this or) that.
Just different pronouns for different situations...
Hope that helps! ( J'espère que ça vous aidera!)
Bonsoir Nora,
Since I do not have the precise question referred to, this may be a bit of a guess.
The definitive pronoun «ça» translates as «that, it» ; however, «celui-là» translates to «that one».
Depending on the phrase in question it would be two different senses to the phrase.
Hi Nora,
It will be a matter of context.
Ça (informal) / Cela (formal) -- impersonal pronoun
Celui / celle-là -- demonstrative pronoun
The choice depends upon the context and to what is being referred in the sentence.
Regards,
Alan ( Non-native speaker)
Nora asked:View original
ça vs celui/celle-là
In this lesson why was ça preferred over celui-là?
Thanks - Nora
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j'aime ça vs je l'aime
a quick question...
what's the difference between j'aime ça and je l'aime
Asked 2 years ago
Bonjour Nim,
J'aime ça usually translates as I love that with ça being the contracted version of cela; however, je l'aime translates as I love it, I love him or I love her. Sometimes it is easier to understand the difference between two phrases simply by study how each translates.
J'espère que cela vous aidera.
Nim asked:View original
j'aime ça vs je l'aime
a quick question...
what's the difference between j'aime ça and je l'aime
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LauraKwiziq language super star
Bonjour Moushumi,
Ça is a pronoun, "ca" does not exist in French. That said, sometimes capital letters don't include accents, so you might see "Ça veut dire" or "Ca veut dire." They mean exactly the same thing.
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Ça or il
"Oh! J'ai regardé ça aussi hier." How can we know it is not "Oh! Je le ai regardé aussi hier." (with contractions)? Last time I asked this you pointed me to the c'est vs il est lesson but "ce" is not "ça" so I don't see how that helps.
Asked 2 years ago
AurélieKwiziq language super star
Bonjour Joakim !
Here is the nuance between "J'ai aussi regardé ça hier." and "Je l'ai aussi regardé hier.":
- In the first sentence, "ça" brings emphasis to the thing you watched, therefore translating as "I watched THIS too yesterday.";
- the second sentence is more neutral, and will be translated as "I watched IT too yesterday." .
I hope that helps!
À bientôt !
Joakim asked:View original
Ça or il
"Oh! J'ai regardé ça aussi hier." How can we know it is not "Oh! Je le ai regardé aussi hier." (with contractions)? Last time I asked this you pointed me to the c'est vs il est lesson but "ce" is not "ça" so I don't see how that helps.
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Ça vs il
What's the rule here, i.e. how can we now it is not "il me dérange quand on fume..."
Asked 3 years ago
AurélieKwiziq language super star
Bonjour Joakim !
To know when to use ça versus il/elle, please have a look at the following lesson:
https://progress.lawlessfrench.com/revision/grammar/when-to-use-cest-or-il-est-elle-est-to-say-it-is
Thanks to your question, we've also added this link to the current lesson.
Merci et à bientôt !
Thanks for the lesson link, Aurélie, but that lesson seems to be about "c'est" vs "il est". "ça" is a third alternative, right?
Joakim asked:View original
Ça vs il
What's the rule here, i.e. how can we now it is not "il me dérange quand on fume..."
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