The top French word to add to your vocabulary
The top French word to add to your vocabulary
Ce petit mot est vraiment important en français
I often say that the most underutilized word French learners should add to their vocabulary is ça.
Yes, the simple word ça.
Here are some examples of how ça is used.
Ça ne me dit rien
It’s not familiar
Ça te dit?
You feel like it?
Comment ça?
How come?
C’est ça!
That’s right!
C’est en plein ça!
That’s damn right! (in Quebec)
Comment ça se passe?
How is it going?
Ça fait longtemps que j’ai envie de faire ça
I’ve been wanting to do that for a while.
Ne fais pas ça!
Don’t do that!
Je suis là pour ca
That’s what I’m here for
Tout ça pour ça!
All that for nothing! (for that)
Tu aimes la pizza? – Oui j’aime ça!
You like pizza? – Yes I love it!
J’ai vu Kevin – Qui ça?
I saw Kevin – Kevin who?
Ça y est!
We got it!
C’est pour ça qu’on vient vous voir
We came to see you for that reason
Comme ça, tu n’as rien fait?
So what you’re saying, is that you didn’t do anything?
As you can tell, ça can be used in many ways. It can replace, in English:
It
That
What
Why (pour ça)
Again (Qui ça? Who’s that again?)
Ça with question words
Ça can be used to ask a question. For example:
Je suis parti au milieu du concert –Comment ça?
How come?
Il y a un accident sur l’autoroute – Où ça ?
Where at?
Tu connais Alex? – Qui ça ?
Alex who?
J’organise une fête! –Quand ça?
When exactly?
Rather than learning long lists of expressions, it’s better to pay attention to how much this word is used in French. We’ll look at common sources of confusion.
Ça or Le and La
Often, it’s not clear whether you should use ça or the articles le or la.
For example, to the question:
Est-ce que t’as vu ce film?
You can answer :
Oui, je l’ai vu.
However, if the question is :
Est-ce que tu aimes le café?
The answer can’t be :
Oui, je l’aime!
The answer should be :
Oui, j’aime ça!
So, when do you use the articles and when do you use “ça”?
Generally, the idea is to use ça whenever there could be confusion in meaning, or to talk about something in general, rather than something specific.
For example, to say:
I love him/her.
You say:
Je l’aime
But to say that you love something, you say:
J’aime ça.
A few examples
Est-ce que t’aimes la pizza?
– Oui, j’aime ça! J’adore ça!
Est-ce que tu aimes Julie?
– Oui, je l’aime.
To talk about a city, you wouldn’t use the word “ça” or the article.
Est-ce que tu aimes Montréal?
– Oui, j’aime beaucoup Montréal!
So here, you can simply use a repetition. Or you can simply talk about this city.
Oui, j’aime beaucoup cette ville!
Or, you can simply omit the object, which is something you can do with the verb aimer.
Oui, j’aime!
Oui, j’aime beaucoup!
Oui, j’adore!
Connaître
The same logic applies to the verb connaître.
Est-ce que tu connais Frédéric?
– Oui, je le connais.
Here, we use the pronoun because we’re talking about a person. But:
Est-ce que tu connais bien le quartier?
– Oui, assez bien.
Here, we could say je le connais because it’s something very specific, but I would avoid the article entirely and simply say assez bien.
Est-ce que tu connais ce mot?
– Non, je ne le connais pas.
Here, we can use the article because a word is something specific. However, it’s more a question of usage, not a definite rule.
Les Québécois aiment la poutine. Est-ce que tu connais ça?
– Non, je ne connais pas ça.
Even though poutine is something specific, it would sound strange to say je la connais, because it would sound like Poutine is a person. So use ça.
Exercise
Answer the following questions in French.
Est-ce que tu connais Marie?
Oui, ______________.
Est-ce que tu connais ce restaurant?
Oui,______________.Est-ce que tu as vu ce film?
Oui,______________.
Est-ce que tu connais le Québec?
Oui,______________.
Est-ce que tu aimes le vélo?
Oui, ______________.
Est-ce que tu aimes Georges?
Oui,______________.
Est-ce que tu aimes Paris?
Oui,______________.
Est-ce que tu connais un autre endroit?
Oui,______________.
Est-ce que tu aimes lire des romans policiers?
Oui,______________.
Est-ce que tu as déjà essayé la poutine?
Oui, ______________.