# Did it rain?



## marget

I think that I can say "Ça pleut", colloquially, for "it's raining".  Is it ever used in the passé composé?  Would it be "Ça a plu"?

Merci d'avance


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## pieanne

Hi, Marget!

You'd say "Il a plu?" or "Est-ce qu'il a plu?"

("Ca a plu?" would be understood as "Did you/they etc like it?")


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## viera

When I hear "Ça a plu", I understand "People liked it" (from the verb "plaire").
I always say "Il pleut" or "Il a plu".


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## pieanne

Yes, that's right, we say "Il pleut" for "it's raining".

Colloquially, if you want to stress the amount of water that's falling, you can say "Qu'est-ce qu'y tombe!"


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## marget

pieanne said:
			
		

> Hi, Marget!
> 
> You'd say "Il a plu?" or "Est-ce qu'il a plu?"
> 
> ("Ca a plu?" would be understood as "Did you/they etc like it?")


 
Un grand merci.  That's just what I thought!   But would you ever say "Ça pleut"?


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## pieanne

I don't.
But then I'm not pure French blood. Maybe some French do. Or Canadians maybe?


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## KaRiNe_Fr

marget said:
			
		

> Un grand merci. That's just what I thought! But would you ever say "Ça pleut"?


Je peux le dire, mais "il pleut" est plus fréquent.
Un petit contexte, au téléphone par exemple :
- "Quel temps fait-il chez toi en ce moment ?"
- "C'est pas brillant : ça pleut !"


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## marget

Merci pour toutes les réponses!


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## V.R.

Hello Marget!

I know that in Canada we wouldn't say _''ça pleut''_, only _''il pleut''_, and almost always _''y pleut''_ in informal conversations.

If you would like to use a colloquial expression to describe the rain, one we often use, at least in French-speaking Canada and maybe elsewhere too, is _''Il (or ''y'') tombe des clous''_, likening a serious shower to nails falling from the sky. It' equivalent in meaning to _''It's raining cats and dogs''_ in English.

Hope that helped a bit! : )


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## Vassilissa

hello,
in France we don't say "il tombe des clous", we say "il tombe des cordes" or, even more colloquial : "il pleut comme vache qui pisse" (like a peeing cow).
A local expression from the North of France : "il drache" (= raining a lot).

We rarely say "ça pleut".


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## Nicomon

I'm sure V.R. will recognize this one... "Y mouille à siaux"   Another equivalent to "It's raining cats and dogs" or more precisely "raining buckets".


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## LV4-26

En Normandie, il ne pleut jamais, il "tombe de l'eau".
_Heula fid'toto ! On pourrait p'têt' ben avoir de l'eau. Faudrait rentrer les vaques.

_En France :_
Ça pleut : _rare mais possible_
Ça a plu :_ jamais, à ma connaissance.

Autrement
_Il vase _(pas très courant)


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## 1234dom

Younger people than me  perhaps use "ça pleut un max" but in that style, I think the verb which fit better is "flotter "
 "ça flotte un max".


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## marget

1234dom said:
			
		

> Younger people than me  perhaps use "ça pleut un max" but in that style, I think the verb which fit better is "flotter "
> "ça flotte un max".


 
So with those warning signs, are you telling me something?   I mean, are those expressions somewhat impolite   or just colloquial?


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## LV4-26

No, they're just colloquial and grammatically incorrect.


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## marget

V.R. said:
			
		

> Hello Marget!
> 
> I know that in Canada we wouldn't say _''ça pleut''_, only _''il pleut''_, and almost always _''y pleut''_ in informal conversations.
> 
> If you would like to use a colloquial expression to describe the rain, one we often use, at least in French-speaking Canada and maybe elsewhere too, is _''Il (or ''y'') tombe des clous''_, likening a serious shower to nails falling from the sky. It' equivalent in meaning to _''It's raining cats and dogs''_ in English.
> 
> Hope that helped a bit! : )


 
Hello V.R.!

Thanks for your answer and welcome to the forum! 
Il tombe des clous is equivalent to "It's raining cats and dogs" to describe a serious rainfall especially if one doesn't like cats or dogs.  We also can say "it's raining  (pouring) buckets".  In French, that would be "Il pleut à seaux".  Do you actually use that expression?


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## marget

LV4-26 said:
			
		

> No, they're just colloquial and grammatically incorrect.


 
Thanks for the clarification. I like learning grammatically incorrect expressions because my textbooks never point them out and where else can I learn them but from fine people like you guys?!


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## Nicomon

Hi Margret,

In answer to your post # 16... please refer you to my # 11, above.   

"Y mouille à siaux" is actually Quebec slang (we say "joual") for Il pleut à seaux.


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## Cath.S.

_



Ça pleut : rare mais possible
Ça a plu : jamais, à ma connaissance.
		
Click to expand...

_Dans ma région (Loir-et-Cher, région Centre)
_Ça pleut :_ assez fréquent
_Ça a plu :_ plus rare, mais néanmoins possible. Eh oui...


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## marget

egueule said:
			
		

> Dans ma région (Loir-et-Cher, région Centre)
> _Ça pleut :_ assez fréquent
> _Ça a plu :_ plus rare, mais néanmoins possible. Eh oui...


 
Thanks, egueule.  In a sense, you made my day.   I thought it had to be at least _remotely_ possible!


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## marget

Nicomon said:
			
		

> Hi Margret,
> 
> In answer to your post # 16... please refer you to my # 11, above.
> 
> "Y mouille à siaux" is actually Quebec slang (we say "joual") for Il pleut à seaux.


 
Merci, Nicomon.  J'essaie d'apprendre le "joual" et je te remercie de ma première leçon!


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## Cath.S.

Well I'm glad, Marget. Il a fait beau chez toi ? Par chez nous, ça a pleuviné toute la journée !


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## marget

egueule said:
			
		

> Well I'm glad, Marget. Il a fait beau chez toi ? Par chez nous, ça a pleuviné toute la journée !


 
Ça a pleuviné ici pendant un petit quart d'heure, mais à part ça, malheureusement, il fait un de ces cagnards ici, c'est la fournaise et c'est la canicule, si je peux me servir de quelques expressions que j'ai apprises ici sur le forum la semaine dernière.


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## CARNESECCHI

Bonjour,
Mon sentiment est que, lorsqu'on utilise "ça", c'est pour remplacer quelque chose : "ça tombe dru" = "cela (la pluie/l'eau en l'occurrence) tombe dru", "ça cogne dur" = "cela (le soleil en l'occurrence) cogne dur.
Pour "ça pleut" (comme pour "ça fait chaud"), je dois avouer que je me demande ce qui peut bien pleuvoir (ou faire chaud) on ne dit pas "la pluie/l'eau/le nuage/le ciel pleut" mais "la pluie tombe", ni "le soleil fait chaud" (sauf, évidemment, à mon coeur) mais "le soleil chauffe".

Ne me faites pas dire ce que je n'ai pas dit  : Je n'ai pas de problème à dire en plaisantant "ça pleut" ou "ça fait chaud", mais je le fait en sachant bien que ce sont des formes familières (et incorrectes).
Hope it helps!


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## marget

CARNESECCHI said:
			
		

> Bonjour,
> Mon sentiment est que, lorsqu'on utilise "ça", c'est pour remplacer quelque chose : "ça tombe dru" = "cela (la pluie/l'eau en l'occurrence) tombe dru", "ça cogne dur" = "cela (le soleil en l'occurrence) cogne dur.
> Pour "ça pleut" (comme pour "ça fait chaud"), je dois avouer que je me demande ce qui peut bien pleuvoir (ou faire chaud) on ne dit pas "la pluie/l'eau/le nuage/le ciel pleut" mais "la pluie tombe", ni "le soleil fait chaud" (sauf, évidemment, à mon coeur) mais "le soleil chauffe".
> 
> Ne me faites pas dire ce que je n'ai pas dit  : Je n'ai pas de problème à dire en plaisantant "ça pleut" ou "ça fait chaud", mais je le fait en sachant bien que ce sont des formes familières (et incorrectes).
> Hope it helps!


 
Merci de ton explication.  Je pensais que "ça pleut" était informel et incorrect et je ne l'entends pas souvent.  Personnellement je n'utilise jamais cette expression.  Cependant, j'aime bien lire tous les commentaires des membres du forum.  _Ça _m'aide beaucoup!


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## 1234dom

marget said:
			
		

> So with those warning signs, are you telling me something? I mean, are those expressions somewhat impolite  or just colloquial?


 
Warning icons use is  a nice suggestion I think... Unfortunatly it's not from my own  ... see http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=7921 . However, I think these icons would be use more often!


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## Cath.S.

> Personnellement je n'utilise jamais cette expression.


I don't either, I was joking when I did and should have made it clear.
Still, people in my area use it. Should they be put to death on the spot, or would hard labour be harsh enough a punishment?


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## marget

1234dom said:
			
		

> Warning icons use is a nice suggestion I think... Unfortunatly it's not from my own  ... see http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=7921 . However, I think these icons would be use more often!


 
Hi,

Now I understand.  Duh!! You used the symbols accurately and I appreciate your examples. You have contributed significantly to my less than perfect yet increasingly more natural use of the exquisite French language. One of the most important things for a non-native speaker to learn is how to make the mistakes a native speaker would. With all the "incorrect" suggestions, I'm well on my way on the topic of rainfall.   Ya did good! Thanks again, 1234dom.


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## marget

egueule said:
			
		

> I don't either, I was joking when I did and should have made it clear.
> Still, people in my area use it. Should they be put to death on the spot, or would hard labour be harsh enough a punishment?


 
Maybe just standing out in the  pouring rain (un jour où ça tombe des cordes ) for an hour or two would be punishment enough to fit the crime.  Better yet, they should be left out for eight hours straight or so un jour où ça fait vraiment chaud, un temps infernal.


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