* * *<\/p>\n
Now, as the title not so subtly hints at, we are considering today the homophone terms: “\u00c7a<\/strong><\/em>“, “\u00e7\u00e0<\/strong><\/em>“, and “sa.<\/strong><\/em>”<\/p>\n Just take a good look at them. All three\u00a0se prononcent exactement de la m\u00eame <\/em>fa\u00e7on <\/em><\/strong>(are pronounced in exactly the same fashion.)<\/p>\n That being the case, you may wonder, how on Earth you are to tell them apart—especially if you are to run into them in the middle of a conversation,\u00a0par exemple<\/em><\/strong>?<\/p>\n The answer, mes chers amis <\/em><\/strong>(my dear friends), is in fact simple, and holds in one beautiful word: Contexte<\/em><\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n It is all about the context, indeed. * * *<\/p>\n As an adverb, it is easy to recognize “\u00e7\u00e0<\/strong><\/em><\/strong><\/em>“, since it invariably occurs in the expression “\u00e7\u00e0 et\u00a0l\u00e0<\/strong><\/em><\/span>“, meaning “here and there”, and\u00a0can alternatively be expressed by\u00a0“par-ci, par-l\u00e0<\/strong>.<\/em>“<\/strong><\/p>\n * * *<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The “\u00e7a<\/strong><\/em>“, without an accent, is easily recognizable. Whether or not you’ve been fully or partially diagnosed with a desperately incurable case of “coulrophobie” (that -please don’t laugh- is the serious term that applies to the “phobia of clowns”), using “\u00e7a” in French grammar should not be as terrifying of an experience as, say, watching all alone in the grim darkness of…<\/p>\n
\nOr if you prefer, “le contexte est roi<\/strong>” <\/em>(“The context is king.”)<\/p>\n<\/h2>\n
* First “\u00c7\u00e0<\/strong><\/em><\/em><\/span>“, as un adverbe <\/em>(an adverb):<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/h2>\n
\n
\n
* Then “<\/span>\u00c7a<\/em><\/span>“, as un pronom<\/em> (a pronoun):<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n
\nThe best way to identify it is looking at the context of the sentence to see whether you can replace it with “cela”<\/em><\/strong>, of which it is a shorthand.<\/p>\n\n
\nIn the formal written French, however, you should avoid the use of “\u00e7a<\/strong><\/em>” instead of cela<\/strong><\/em> at all costs.<\/div>\n\n