🇫🇷 Everyday French Phrases with Ça ✊

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

We're talking all about ça this week on Instagram! Go and check out my profile and stories for more. A link is in the description!

[@novart9230]

Fun fact : "c'est" is the contraction of "ça est" or "cela est" so "c'est quoi ça?" is litteraly translate by "this is what this?". Also yes "ça craint" is slang coming from the verb "craindre" who have several meanings : to fear but also to worry. "ça craint" can mean "it's sucks" but also something scary like "ce quartier craint" = "This neighborhood sucks/is scary" (and to speak like a young parisian you can even say "ça craint à mort !"). "ça craint" is really informal but "c'est à craindre" ("it's something to be worry about") for exemple is a really formal sentence so a few words can make a big difference :p

[@vanshikbhatia8183]

Merci ça me va ❤❤❤

[@Papillon95]

Ca me va, ca bouge! Merci Alex pour cette video!

[@CarlosDaniel]

Awesome class. Thank you! Merci beaucoup!

[@patriciarobin486]

Ça déménage! Qui signifie que ça remue, ça bouge, ça décoiffe.

[@sphinxx5322]

"Ca craint" does come from the verb "craindre". It usually means something is bad and worrysome (and of course, if it's bad and worrysome, it sucks too I guess ^^'). Cool video !

[@lexismart7555]

You are a breath of fresh air!! from all the run-of-the-mill French instructors who do not add anything to the learning of French (but don't hesitate to take a worn out pedagogical, expert attitude...yawn).

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Thank you so much Lexi. I try to keep it as relevant to every day life, and for English speaking brains as possible!

[@CatherinaLincoln]

Really so useful everyday spoken french

[@childofMotherMary]

incroyable leçon !

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Merci beaucoup

[@jackfootemoji9077]

Love these videos a lot, thanks so much!

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Avec plaisir. Thanks for watching! You're a fellow AFTV follower (had a quick look at your profile). Also a fellow Arsenal fan?

[@Ugsscjoh]

I’ve been studying French for a little more than 2 months now and I found your channel to be really helpful !!!! Your channel is definitely my fav French learning source now ! Thank you for doing this for us and I’m excited to sound like you someday hopefully soon :D merci !

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Ça c'est un super but Nago ;)

[@gerigeans]

Love love your channel it’s very helpful

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Thank you!

[@goshujinsama666]

Watching videos like yours helps me a lot with keeping in touch with the French language, merci! Found you from the French subreddit, your accent is on point ,WOW!

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

De rien ! T'es très gentil Goshujin ! Thanks very much!

[@charlesgribble5286]

I love your teaching very well

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Merci Charles

[@CarmzT]

Cc Alex! Merci beaucoup! Your videos are really great and I'm taking notes of all the common expressions you mentioned, including spelling! MDR! These are totally, absolutely HELPFUL as I really use most of these expressions. 😁😀

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

This is wonderful! Ça me fait plaisir :)

[@philipkasera9387]

Could someone please tell me what ‘mdr’ and ‘ptdr’ mean

[@thadeikiwia22]

cest beau

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Merci.

[@theboyfromxtown]

Thank you Alex. Excellent video, as usual

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Merci John ! Ça me fait plaisir.

[@krisedwards3091]

So helpful mate🙂

[@jimporter7209]

Really great content

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Thanks Jim!

[@isaac6735]

Brilliant video, thank you!

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Thank you for commenting Isaac!

[@rogeer3920]

Hey mate, Ive just found out your channel and it's incredible, thank you ! I still have one question left for the usage of ça, for example: Je prends deux douches par jour, le matin ça me réveille et le soir ça me détend. Is this usage correct? It seems that the 'ça' means in the context 'when'. Merci!

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Hey man. Thank you so much. Yes, this is correct usage! But here, ça translates to "it" and "it" being "taking a shower". Hope this helps.

[@rogeer3920]

@@FrenchinPlainSight Merci! Yes, easier than i thought :)

[@alannohlgren]

I'm sure you've covered it in other videos, but since you asked, I'd add "Ca vaux la peine" --it's worth it, & " C'est pas la peine ", or its not worth it, not worth the bother. Voila, & thank you beaucoup Alex

[@chekang3697]

what a helpful vid!

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Ça me fait plaisir ;)

[@huguesb9431]

Ça gaze, ça baigne, both mean "ça va"

[@gann2425]

I can start with "ça" instead of "il/elle" whenever i want? i.e combien de temps ça restera ici?

[@gann2425]

"ça" points trash

[@LauraMorland]

Not exactly. Only if *il/elle* refers to an *inanimate object.* Think *ça = it*

[@stevielambert8262]

Je me sers de 'ça marche' très souvent.

[@scottmuck]

But il and elle can also mean “it” , so when do we use ça vs il and elle?

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Yes! That's a big topic! But one I have some tips for and will hopefully get to soon!

[@LauraMorland]

Keep in mind that *ça* has to be used for an *inanimate object,* and that will solve most of your questions.

[@Furienna]

​@@LauraMorlandWhat I can't help finding weird is that "il" means "it" even in expressions like "il pleut". I mean, who is the "he" that's raining?

[@LauraMorland]

@@Furienna I think it's best to just mémorise these "fixed impersonal expressions" like "il faut/faudra", "il pleut" and just stick them in your head as they are!

[@Furienna]

@@LauraMorland It is only funny to me since no Germanic language has the same word for "he" and "it" in such expressions. So my Swedish brain needs a lot of time to get used to it.

[@piotrouche1593]

oui "ça craint" ça vient de craindre. On peut dire aussi "c'est craignos" en prononçant le "s" final. (very informal). Tu aurais pu rajouter que "ça" est une contraction de "cela" . On peut toujours dire "cela" à la place de "ça", mais cela fait pédant. Mais dans certaines circonstances on peut encore utiliser "cela" par exemple avec le vouvoiement à la place de "ça te va?" on peut dire "cela vous convient-il?" I'm listening your vidéos to practice my english, and because I understand you without subtitle. Is it your natural way to speak english? Because it would be so cool if every native english speaker speaks as you do.

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

I do speak more clearly than most natives because I like to articulate, but it isn't my natural speed because I'm teaching.

[@dinoapolito5354]

Cela est utilisé plutôt à l’écrit au lieu de ça. C’est ça?

[@piotrouche1593]

@@dinoapolito5354 oui c'est ça, plutôt dans des textes informels (casual)

[@minhzikm1]

Is CA and ça same ?

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Yes. Ça is often spelled incorrectly as ca and sometimes sa.

[@minhzikm1]

@@FrenchinPlainSight merci beaucoup pour votre réponse. Pouvez-vous faire une vidéo sur "ON". As i understood there are wide meanings of ON except just "us" in french

[@BGTuyau]

And "Ça roule, ma poule!?"

[@daisy1240]

What is 'ça te dit?' Ça te va ?

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

They are very similar so don't worry if you mix them up. Ça te dit is more "are you up for it?" Ça te va is more "does that suit you?"

[@daisy1240]

@@FrenchinPlainSight Merci beaucoup. Bonne journée.

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

De rien. C'est subtile donc essaye de ne pas trop traduire ces deux directement. Il faut entendre comment les natifs les utilisent. Bonne journée à toi

[@pwp8737]

si'l vous plaît fix the subtitles. C'est horrible! They are phonetic and bear no relation to your words.

[@FrenchinPlainSight]

Hi. Sorry about that. They are youTube generated and it doesn't do well when I switch between languages. In my newer videos (2021 onwards, ish) I make the subtitles myself. It's very time consuming so for now I won't be going back to older videos.