Weather in Spanish and French
Weather is taught as phrases rather than single words, because each language builds them with its own verbs. English says it is for almost everything; Spanish and French each use three or four different patterns.
The words
| Picture | English | Spanish | French |
|---|---|---|---|
| What's the weather like? | ¿Qué tiempo hace? | quel temps fait-il ? | |
| The weather is nice. | Hace buen tiempo. | · | |
| It's sunny. | Hace sol. | il fait soleil | |
| It's hot. | Hace calor. | il fait chaud | |
| It's cold. | Hace frío. | il fait froid | |
| It's windy. | Hace viento. | il y a du vent / il fait du vent | |
| It's cloudy. | Está nublado. | le ciel est nuageux | |
| It rains. / It is raining. | Llueve. | · | |
| It's raining (right now). | Está lloviendo. | · | |
| It snows. / It is snowing. | Nieva. | · | |
| It's snowing (right now). | Está nevando. | · | |
| It's stormy. / There's a storm. | Hay tormenta. | · | |
| It's foggy. | Hay niebla. | il y a du brouillard | |
| it's nice (the weather is good) | · | il fait beau | |
| the weather is bad | · | il fait mauvais | |
| it's cool (chilly) | · | il fait frais | |
| it's raining | · | il pleut | |
| it's snowing | · | il neige |
Where two forms are given, both are standard in different regions and both are marked right on the answer keys. Every word is checked in two dictionaries: how we check. Pictures: OpenMoji, CC BY-SA 4.0, and Language Sheets.
Make a worksheet: weather
Word search, bingo, crossword, matching or flashcards, with a separate answer key.
Spanish: hace, está, hay
Hace with a noun: hace sol, hace calor, hace frío, hace viento.
Está with an adjective or a gerund: está nublado, está lloviendo.
Hay with a noun: hay niebla, hay tormenta. And single verbs: llueve, nieva.
French: il fait, il y a, il pleut
Il fait with an adjective or a noun: il fait beau, il fait chaud, il fait froid.
Il y a with a noun: il y a du vent, il y a du brouillard.
Single verbs: il pleut, il neige.
In the classroom
Matching phrases to weather pictures is the natural first sheet; write-the-phrase follows. A daily weather report at the start of a lesson keeps the phrases in use.