Cela suffit pour aujourd'hui.

That is enough for today.

Breakdown of Cela suffit pour aujourd'hui.

• aujourd'hui: today
• pour: for
• cela: that
• suffire: to be enough

Questions & Answers about Cela suffit pour aujourd'hui.

Can I say “Ça suffit pour aujourd’hui” instead of “Cela suffit pour aujourd’hui”? Is there a difference?

Yes, you absolutely can say “Ça suffit pour aujourd’hui.”

• Cela is a bit more formal and is more common in writing or careful speech.
• Ça is what you’ll hear 99% of the time in everyday spoken French.

In practice:

• Spoken French: “Ça suffit pour aujourd’hui.”
• Written / neutral style: “Cela suffit pour aujourd’hui.”

The meaning is the same: “That’s enough for today.”

What exactly does “cela” refer to in this sentence?

“Cela” (or “ça” in spoken French) is a demonstrative pronoun. It refers to:

• what has just been done, said, or experienced, e.g.
  • after doing exercises: “Ça suffit pour aujourd’hui.” → These exercises are enough for today.
  • after a long discussion: “Ça suffit pour aujourd’hui.” → This discussion is enough for today.

It’s a bit like English “this/that” used vaguely:

• Not naming something specific, but pointing to the overall activity or situation that just happened.

What verb is “suffit” and why is it in that form?

“Suffit” is the 3rd person singular present tense of the verb “suffire” (to be enough / to suffice).

Conjugation in the present (singular forms):

• je suffis – I am enough / I suffice
• tu suffis – you are enough
• il/elle/on suffit – he/she/it is enough

In “Cela suffit pour aujourd’hui”:

• Subject: cela
• Verb: suffit (3rd person singular → matches cela)

Literally: “That suffices for today.”

Why is the verb singular (suffit) and not plural?

The verb agrees with its subject, which is “cela”.

• “Cela” is singular → so you must use “suffit”.
• If the subject were plural, the verb would be plural:
  • “Ces exercices suffisent pour aujourd’hui.”
    These exercises are enough for today.

So:

• Cela suffit → That is enough.
• Ces choses suffisent → Those things are enough.

How would I make this sentence negative, like “That’s not enough for today”?

You wrap the verb “suffit” with ne … pas:

• “Cela ne suffit pas pour aujourd’hui.”
  → That’s not enough for today.

Spoken French often drops “ne”, especially with ça:

• “Ça suffit pas pour aujourd’hui.” (very common in speech)

Structure:

• subject: cela / ça
• ne (often dropped in speech)
• verb: suffit
• pas
• rest of the sentence: pour aujourd’hui

Why do we say “pour aujourd’hui” and not something else like “jusqu’à aujourd’hui”?

“Pour aujourd’hui” literally means “for today (as far as today is concerned)”.

• It sets a limit in terms of what you’re doing today, not a chronological limit in time.
• It’s like English: “That’s enough for today.”

Other expressions have different meanings:

• “jusqu’à aujourd’hui” → until today (up to this date, looking back in time)
• “jusqu’à ce soir” → until this evening (end point in time)

So “Cela suffit pour aujourd’hui” really means:

• We’ll stop here as far as today is concerned.

Why is there no article before “aujourd’hui”? Why not “le aujourd’hui” or something like that?

“Aujourd’hui” is an adverb of time, not a noun, so it doesn’t take an article.

• You say:
  • aujourd’hui – today
  • demain – tomorrow
  • hier – yesterday

You don’t say:

• ✗ le aujourd’hui
• ✗ le demain

So “pour aujourd’hui” is simply “for today”, with an adverb (aujourd’hui) after the preposition pour.

Is “Cela suffit pour aujourd’hui” polite or could it sound rude?

It can be neutral or a bit abrupt, depending on tone and context.

• Neutral / polite if said calmly:
  • at the end of a lesson or meeting
  • when finishing a work session
• It can sound sharp or scolding if said with a hard tone, especially to children:
  • like English “That’s enough (now)!”

To soften it, people often add something:

• “Bon, ça suffit pour aujourd’hui, on reprendra demain.”
• “Ça suffit pour aujourd’hui, merci.”

Can I change the word order, like “Pour aujourd’hui, cela suffit”?

Yes. Both are correct:

• “Cela suffit pour aujourd’hui.” (most common, neutral order)
• “Pour aujourd’hui, cela suffit.” (slightly more emphatic on “as for today”)

The second sounds a bit more stylistic or deliberate, but it’s perfectly natural, especially in writing or formal speech.

What’s the difference between “Cela suffit” and “C’est suffisant”?

Both can mean “That’s enough”, but they feel different:

• “Cela suffit.”

  • Very idiomatic.
  • Common in everyday speech.
  • Often used to end or stop something:
    • Okay, we stop here. That’s enough.

• “C’est suffisant.”

  • More descriptive and a bit more formal.
  • Sounds like you’re evaluating something rather than cutting it off.
  • Closer to: “It is sufficient / adequate.”

In most situations where you’d say “That’s enough” in English to stop an activity, “Ça suffit.” is the natural choice.

Can I use other tenses with “suffire” in this kind of sentence?

Yes, depending on what you want to express:

• Present (commonest):
  “Ça suffit pour aujourd’hui.”
  → That’s enough for today. (right now)

• Future:
  “Ça suffira pour aujourd’hui.”
  → That will be enough for today. (looking ahead, reassuring someone)

• Past (passé composé):
  “Ça a suffi pour aujourd’hui.”
  → That was enough for today. (looking back on what happened)

All three are correct; you just choose based on whether you’re talking about now, later, or earlier.