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Cela est très important.

Cela est très important.
That is very important.
From Lesson 103:Demonstrative pronouns (celui, celle...)·French

Breakdown of Cela est très important.

très
very
important
important
cela
that

Questions & Answers about Cela est très important.

Why use cela instead of celui or celle here?
Cela means "that" in a general, undefined sense—like a whole idea, statement, or situation. You use the pronouns from this lesson (celui, celle, ceux, celles) when pointing to a specific noun you just mentioned (like "that car" or "this book"). Because we are just saying "That [general concept] is important," we use the indefinite pronoun cela.
Is cela the same as ça? Could I just say c'est très important?
Yes! Cela is simply the formal, written version of ça (or ce). In everyday spoken French, people would almost always say c'est très important. You will mostly see cela est in formal writing, speeches, or very polite conversation.
If "that" refers to a feminine concept we were just talking about, does important get an -e at the end?
No. When you use indefinite pronouns like cela, ce, or ça to describe a general idea or situation, the adjective that follows is always in the default masculine singular form. So, it remains important no matter what.
Can I add -ci or -là to cela, like we do with celui-ci?
No, you never add those suffixes to cela. In fact, cela is actually already a combination of the word ce (this/that) and the suffix -là (there)! Its exact opposite is ceci (this), which is made of ce + -ci.

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