UnCentGorilles (corrigez moi)

[viral delta]

Please be patient

Our volunteers look into many questions every day; sometimes it takes them a little while to answer.

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[trail moat]

im under the impression the former are for more abstract ideas and latter are for physical or feasible things?

[valid saddle]

ça is like "this" or "that" and only gets used for objects
ce and il/elle can be used for objects or people, depending on what follows
c'est + noun
il/elle est + adjective

c'est mon frère
c'est un cadeau
c'est sa tante
c'est mon chien
c'est mon rêve

(mon frère) il est sympa
(ma mère) elle est triste
(ma voiture) elle est neuve
(mon boulot) il est fatiguant

[trail moat]

ahh that makes sense

merci bcp

[sweet otter]

"ça" can be used when referring to people but it's not very useful when you're starting out, especially since it can come off poorly depending on context

[cerulean loom]

I had a middle school teacher who'd sometimes enter another teacher's class and go "C'est comme le détroit, ça bosse fort ?"

[sweet otter]

It also can just be used normally with people as a stressed pronoun
Like "ça, c'est mon ami Frédéric"

Also, "ce" can be used with adjectives if it's more conceptual

It may sometimes seem like you're referring to a noun (la plage, c'est sympa) but you're more referring to the concept of it or the situation surrounding it rather than a concrete object