La météo (part 1)
This video is part of our free course beginners 1
“Il fait” + adjective
In this section, we are using “il fait,” which means “it does” followed by an adjective. In this section, we shall be exploring common ways to talk about the weather.
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Il fait beau | The weather is nice |
| Il fait chaud | The weather is hot |
| Il fait moche | The weather is miserable |
| Il fait soleil | The weather is sunny |
| Il fait nuageux | The weather is cloudy |
| Il fait froid | The weather is cold |
| Il fait humide | The weather is humid |
| Il fait bon | The weather is good/ pleasant |
| Il fait mauvais | The weather is bad |
| Il fait doux | The weather is mild |
Note
Some of the above sentences can be used with adverbs like “très.” The adverb will go after “fait.”
Il fait très beau The weather is really nice
Note
Some of the adjectives used above can also be used to describe other things than the weather. “Moche” means “ugly,” “bon” means “good” for tastes, smells and abilities, “mauvais” is the opposite of “bon,” “beau” means “beautiful,” “mauvais” means “bad” and “doux” means “sweet or soft.”
Note
You can say two of the above sentences in a row. In this case, the second sentence doesn’t need “il fait.” They can be linked with “et”.
Il fait beau et chaud The weather is nice and hot
Note
You can say two of the above sentences in a row, and link them with “mais” to show contrast. In that case, you will need to say “il fait” after “mais”.
Il fait soleil mais il fait froid The weather is sunny, but it is cold
Verbs
In this section, we are using verbs only. The verbs below can only be used to talk about the weather and can only be used with “il” the impersonal subject for the weather.
| Infinitive verb | Present tense |
|---|---|
| Neiger → To snow | Il neige → It’s snowing |
| Pleuvoir → To rain | Il pleut → It’s raining |
| Grêler → To hail | Il grêle → It’s hailing |
| Geler → To be freezing | Il gèle → It’s freezing |
Note
The French word for “snow” is “la neige,” the one for “rain” is “la pluie.” The French word for “hail” is “la grêle” and the one for “freeze” is “le gel.”
Note
As the above are verbs, “il” must be used even if you are using two sentences in a row.
Il pleut et il gèle It is raining, and it is freezing
“Il y a” + article + noun
In this section, we are using “il y a” which means “there is” or “there are” followed by an article and a noun. The article must be a partitive article. This can only be used in this section as described below.
| French | English |
|---|---|
| Il y a du tonnerre | There is thunder |
| Il y a du brouillard | It is foggy/ There is fog |
| Il y a du vent | It is windy/ There is wind |
| Il y a des éclairs (m) | There is lightning |
| Il y a de l’orage (m) | It is stormy/ There is a storm |
Note
Partitive articles are “du”, “de la”, “de l’” and “des”. They mean “some” for uncountable nouns. You can find the lesson on partitive articles in this book. When “des” is followed by a vowel or “h” use a “z” link.
Note
You can say two of the above sentences in a row. In this case, the second sentence doesn’t need “il y a.” They can be linked with “et,” and you must keep the partitive article.
Il y a du tonnerre et des éclairs There are thunder and lightning
Note
You can use this section with “du soleil,” “de la pluie,” “des nuages” or “de la neige.” As “il y a” means “there is or there are,” your sentence will be more descriptive.
Il y a de la neige sur la montagne There is snow on the mountain
