Learn Hardcore French: Dans ce village, les choses se disent directement, et cela me plaît. - In this village, things are said directly, and I like that.

Literally, les choses se disent directement would be something like “things say themselves directly,” which of course isn’t how we’d say it in English. In French, this structure is often used as a kind of “reflexive passive”:

Les choses se disent directement.
= “Things are said directly.” / “People say things directly (here).”

So:

les choses = the subject (plural, so the verb is plural: se disent)
se = reflexive pronoun, used here to create a general, impersonal, almost passive meaning
disent = 3rd person plural of dire

It’s not reflexive in the sense of “they say themselves something”; rather, it conveys that, in general, this is how things get said in this place, without specifying exactly who says them.

Could I say on dit les choses directement or les choses sont dites directement instead? What is the difference?

Yes, both are grammatically correct, but they sound a bit different:

On dit les choses directement.
- on = “people” / “we” (generic subject)
- Very common, neutral, everyday French.
- Emphasises that people in this village speak directly.
Les choses se disent directement. (original sentence)
- More idiomatic when you want to talk about how things generally tend to be said.
- Slightly more “background” and impersonal: it focuses on the way things are expressed, not on who is doing the speaking.
Les choses sont dites directement.
- This is a true passive with être + past participle.
- Grammatically fine, but sounds more formal, heavier, and more written.
- Less common in very natural, everyday spoken French compared to les choses se disent.

So, if you want very natural, slightly informal-feeling French for a general habit in a place, les choses se disent directement or on dit les choses directement are both excellent choices. The original just sounds a bit more idiomatic and less “heavy” than the être passive.

How does the verb plaire work in cela me plaît? Why not just j’aime ça?

Plaire is a bit “reversed” compared to English to like:

French: X plaît à Y
English: Y likes X

So:

cela me plaît literally = “that is pleasing to me”
Natural English: “I like that” / “I enjoy that” / “That appeals to me.”

Structure with pronouns:

ça / cela me plaît = I like that
ça te plaît ? = Do you like that?
ça lui plaît = He/She likes that
ça nous plaît = We like that
ça vous plaît = You like that
ça leur plaît = They like that

Why not just j’aime ça?

You can say j’aime ça, and it’s correct. Nuance:

Cela me plaît
- Often a bit more nuanced: “I find it pleasant / appealing / it suits me.”
- Can sound a touch more elegant or slightly more “measured”.
J’aime ça
- More direct and general: “I like it.”
- Very common in spoken French, can sound stronger or less nuanced.

In the sentence et cela me plaît, the speaker is calmly saying that this way of speaking (directly) appeals to them; cela me plaît fits that tone very well.

What is the difference between cela and ça here? Could I say et ça me plaît instead?

Both cela and ça refer back to the whole idea expressed before:

Dans ce village, les choses se disent directement.
→ Cela / Ça refers to this whole fact: that in this village, people speak directly.

Differences:

cela
- More formal or neutral/written.
- Common in writing, speeches, and slightly more careful French.
ça
- Very common in spoken, informal French.
- Feels more relaxed and conversational.

So yes, you can absolutely say:

Dans ce village, les choses se disent directement, et ça me plaît.

That sounds very natural in spoken French. The original cela me plaît is a bit more neutral or “standard written” style.

Why is it dans ce village and not en ce village or à ce village?

Prepositions with places in French are quite specific.

dans ce village
- Literally “in this village”, with the idea of inside the boundaries of the village.
- Very natural when talking about what happens inside a concrete place:
  - Dans ce village, tout le monde se connaît.
  - Dans cette école, on travaille beaucoup.
en ce village
- This sounds archaic or literary in modern French.
- In everyday French, we simply don’t say this.
à ce village
- Normally not used to mean “in this village.”
- À is used without an article for towns and villages:
  - à Paris, à Lyon, à Londres
- With a demonstrative like ce, for the idea “inside this (specific) village”, we use dans:
  - dans ce village, dans ce quartier, dans ce pays (for emphasis on “within”).
- À ce village would only appear in very specific structures (e.g. in expressions like à ce village, je préfère la ville, and even there à ce village feels awkward; people would usually say à ce village-là or rephrase).

So for a simple locative meaning “in this village (within its limits)”, dans ce village is the normal, idiomatic choice.

Why is there a comma before et? Is that normal in French?

Yes, it’s normal and correct here.

The sentence has two independent clauses:

Dans ce village, les choses se disent directement
cela me plaît

Each clause has its own subject and verb:

1st clause: subject = les choses, verb = se disent
2nd clause: subject = cela, verb = plaît

In French, you can separate two independent clauses joined by et with a comma, especially when it helps clarity or rhythm:

Il fait beau, et nous allons nous promener.
Je suis fatigué, et je vais me coucher.

You might also see it written … directement et cela me plaît without a comma. Both are acceptable; the comma here just makes the pause clearer in writing and feels quite natural.

What exactly does directement add here? Could we use something like franchement or de manière directe instead?

Directement is an adverb meaning “directly” and here it describes the manner of speaking:

les choses se disent directement
= “things are said in a direct way”
= “people speak frankly / straightforwardly, without beating around the bush.”

Important: directement can also mean “straight / straight away / immediately” in other contexts, but not here. In this sentence, it clearly refers to manner, not to time.

Alternatives:

franchement
- “frankly / honestly.”
- Slightly stronger, adds a nuance of openness and honesty; sometimes also of bluntness.
ouvertement
- “openly,” with no attempt to hide things.
sans détour
- literally “without detour”, i.e. without beating around the bush.
de manière directe / d’une façon directe
- Literally “in a direct way.”
- Correct, but a bit heavier; directement is shorter and more natural here.

So:

Dans ce village, les choses se disent directement
is nicely idiomatic, compact, and natural.

Why is it se disent and not se dit? And why not something like se disent dites?

The verb must agree with the subject:

Subject: les choses → 3rd person plural
Therefore the verb must also be plural: se disent

If the subject were singular:

La vérité se dit directement.
(“The truth is said directly.”)

But with les choses (plural), you must say:

Les choses se disent directement.

About se disent dites:
That would be ungrammatical. You would be mixing two structures:

Reflexive “passive” with se + verbe:
- Les choses se disent.
True passive with être + past participle:
- Les choses sont dites.

You have to choose one:

Les choses se disent directement. (reflexive passive)
Les choses sont dites directement. (être + participle)

You can’t stack them as se disent dites.

Could we say something like Dans ce village, on parle directement instead of les choses se disent directement? Would that mean the same thing?

You can say:

Dans ce village, on parle directement.

It’s perfectly correct and very natural. The meaning is close, but the focus shifts slightly:

Dans ce village, les choses se disent directement.
- Emphasises “the things that are said”; the topics themselves get expressed directly.
- Slightly more impersonal; it describes a general way things are expressed.
Dans ce village, on parle directement.
- Emphasises that people (“on”) in this village speak in a direct way.
- Focuses a bit more on the speakers and their usual style.

Both convey the idea: “In this village, people are very direct in what they say.” The original sentence just uses that very idiomatic reflexive style common for describing general habits or norms.

Why is there a circumflex accent on plaît? Does it change the pronunciation?

The form plaît has a circumflex (ˆ) over the i:

plaire → 3rd person singular present: (il/elle/ça) plaît

Historically, the circumflex often shows that an -s- used to be there in older French (compare English pleasure, please):

Old form: something like plais
Modern French: plaît

Pronunciation today:

In standard contemporary French, plaît is pronounced /plɛ/ — just like plai without an s.
The circumflex does not change the sound here in most accents; it mainly reflects spelling history.

So cela me plaît is pronounced approximately like [sə.la mə plɛ].