"ça" explained (French question)?

Question

What EXACTLY does "ça", and how EXACTLY would it be used in a complete sentence. I have a hunch that it means "that" or "this". An example I can think of:

"J'aime beacoup ça!" - I like that a lot!

-AND-

"Ça, c'est chocolat." - That's chocolate.

Am I wrong? How is it used? Examples? Meaning? Please answer if you know FOR SURE what you're talking about. Merci beaucoup pour toutes les réponses! =)


Bonus question:
Do you pronounce the "s" (as a "z") @ the end of "suis" in this sentence?:

Je suiS un américain.

The 2nd example: "Ça, c'est DU chocolat" instead of what I wrote above. Désolé!

Answer 1

Your suggested examples are absolutely right, except that you'd say for the second one: "Ça, c'est du chocolat", as French has to have some kind of article for each noun.

Further examples:

Ça va? How are you?
Un gâteau comme ça, s’il vous plaît -- one of those cakes, please (pointing)
Les messieurs font comme ça -- the men go like this (line from the famous song "Sur le Pont d'Avignon").

But remember, it's emphatic, and when you want to use a pronoun -- i.e. this boy, that girl, etc. you have to use ce, cette, ces or cettes.

Bonus: "Je suis Américain" is the way you say: "I am an American". You sound the final s because it elides into the a.

Answer 2

In response to your "bonus question"

Its pronounced "s-like". The accent you see there tells you to pronounce it like that (as in francais).

Here's some more bonus for you. The reason the "s" at the end of suis is pronounced w/ a "z" sound is because of the presence of a vowel afterwards. The correct form of that sentence is actually "Je suis Americain". If instead you were from Canada, it would be "Je suis Canadien". and you wouldn't even pronounce the "s" at the end.

You have the meaning of "ca" down. It simply means "That".

(PS: I don't have the keys to put in the accents. Just pretend they're there).

Answer 3

Yes, to both questions. I don't have the font for "ca", but I can tell you that it is an idiomatic (not literally translatable) word similar to that or this. And an "s" at the end of a word that is before a word becginning with a vowel, is always pronounced like a soft "z."

Answer 4

"Ça" is the contraction of "cela", meaning that

literally translating u get

I love a lot that

That, that's chocolate

Bonus answer:
the s is pronounced z when making the liaison

Answer 5

"ça" is "that" or "it", pronunce it as the "s" of "answer" not like a "z"...

Answer 6

It simply means "that".