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explaining difference between "it" and "that" to a french person

ive been asked by this french girl that ive been helping with her english if i can explain to her the difference between when to use "it" and when to use "that". i realised id never really thought about it and i cant explain it to her at all! can anybody help me explain to her?
I guess the closest they've got in French is "ce" (as in "c'est") and "ça". One is like a general, genderless expression, but the other refers to something specific, often something that you've got in front of you.

Hope his helps :wink:
Reply 2
Avatar for alicen
alicen
OP
sort of, but im talking to her in english and in french ce and ca can both mean that OR it. it doesnt really translate so im going to have to explain it in english i think :/
Reply 3
Avatar for hmjessop
hmjessop
13
'It' sounds like something you have already established the identity of and 'that' sounds like you are pointing something out, something a bit more distant.
That prob doesn't make sense :biggrin:
Reply 4
Avatar for zanejamal
zanejamal
1
'It' can be more general whilst 'that' refers to something specific.... I'm confused now :s-smilie:.
For most situations, they are vaguely synonymous; 'that' is only necessary when distinguishing from a different 'that.'
Reply 6
Avatar for alicen
alicen
OP
yeah that was my thought, also you would use "it" if it was something you had experience of and "that" if you didnt e.g. -i only go to school one day a week. -really? THATS not very much. because if you say ITS not very much it sounds like you only go to school one day a week as well. arghh confusing!
Reply 7
Avatar for Polkadotsox
Polkadotsox
Not very helpful, but reminds me of when my german exchange student asked me to explain the difference between 'this' and 'that'. That/This took a lot of thinking about!

Sorry for the uselessness, but it just sparked my memory! :smile:

xx
Reply 8
Avatar for MilliBilli
MilliBilli
Wikipedia "It"
Wikipedia "That"

From Wikipedia:

The word "that" is used in the English language for several grammatical purposes:

* to introduce a restrictive clause
* as a demonstrative pronoun
* as a complementizer.

"It" (IPA: /ɪt/) is a third-person, singular neuter pronoun (subject case) in Modern English.

Reading those artivles will help :smile:

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