Talking About the Weather

Asking About the Weather

First things first, how do you ask "How's the weather?" There are two main ways to do this. The first and most direct one uses the verb essere (to be), which you're already familiar with.

Let's watch a short video that introduces this key question and explains an interesting quirk of the word tempo.

So, the key question is: Com'è il tempo oggi? (How is the weather today?).

Now, how do we answer? The simplest way is to use the verb essere again.

Method 1: Describing the Weather with Essere + Adjective

The most versatile way to describe the weather is by using the structure È + aggettivo (It is + adjective). This is very similar to English and allows you to be quite specific.

This next clip will show you the basic answer structure and introduce some of the most common weather adjectives.

Here's a list of useful adjectives from the video and other sources:

• bello - beautiful/good
• brutto - ugly/bad
• soleggiato - sunny
• nuvoloso - cloudy
• ventoso - windy
• piovoso - rainy
• sereno - clear (sky)
• coperto - overcast/covered

So, you can say:

• Oggi è bello. (Today is beautiful.)
• È nuvoloso. (It's cloudy.)
• È molto ventoso. (It's very windy.)

This structure is your go-to for most descriptions. But there's another very common way you'll hear Italians talk about the weather.

Method 2: The Verb Fare for General Conditions

You'll often hear Italians use the verb fare (to do/make) to talk about the weather. This can be confusing at first, but there's a clear rule for it, which aligns with your preference for understanding the grammar behind the phrases.

The second common question for weather is: Che tempo fa oggi? (Literally: What weather does it do today?).

Now, let's look at the crucial difference between using essere and fare. This next video is excellent because it is dedicated entirely to this specific point of grammar.

Here's the rule, simplified:

You only use fa for a few very general statements, most importantly temperature:

• Fa caldo. - It's hot.
• Fa freddo. - It's cold.
• Fa bello. - The weather is good.
• Fa brutto. - The weather is bad.

For all other specific descriptions, you must use essere:

• È nuvoloso. (It's cloudy.) - Correct
• Fa nuvoloso. - Incorrect
• È soleggiato. (It's sunny.) - Correct
• Fa soleggiato. - Incorrect

Two More Essential Structures

Besides essere and fare, there are two other common, simple ways to talk about weather phenomena. This article gives a great overview of all four methods.

Method 3: Impersonal Verbs

For rain and snow, you can just use the verb by itself. It's simple and direct.

• Piove. - It's raining.
• Nevica. - It's snowing.

Method 4: C'è (There is...)

You can also say that a weather element is present using c'è (there is), which you've seen before.

• C'è il sole. - There is sun. (It's sunny.)
• C'è la nebbia. - There is fog. (It's foggy.)
• Ci sono le nuvole. - There are clouds. (It's cloudy.)

This visual summary brings all these common phrases together.

Starting a Weather Conversation

Finally, how do you use this in a natural way? Often, a conversation doesn't start with a question, but with a simple observation.

The article "Talking about the weather in Italian" offers some great examples.

These phrases are perfect icebreakers:

• Che bella giornata! - What a beautiful day!
• Che brutta giornata! - What a horrible day!

And for a bit of authentic flair, if it's really, really cold, you might hear an Italian say:

• Fa un freddo cane! - It's dog cold! (It's freezing cold!)

Conclusion

Ottimo lavoro! (Great work!) You now have a solid foundation for one of the most useful types of small talk. You can ask about the weather, and more importantly, you can answer using four different common structures.

Key Takeaways:

• Ask about the weather: Com'è il tempo? or Che tempo fa?
• Four ways to answer:
  1. È + aggettivo for specific descriptions (è soleggiato, è nuvoloso).
  2. Fa + ... for general statements, especially temperature (fa caldo, fa freddo).
  3. Impersonal verbs for precipitation (piove, nevica).
  4. C'è + nome to state the presence of something (c'è il sole, c'è la nebbia).
• Start a conversation with a simple exclamation like Che bella giornata!.

In this lesson, we had a brief introduction to the verb fare. In our next lesson, we'll explore fare in much more detail, along with another crucial irregular verb, andare (to go). Mastering these will unlock your ability to talk about your actions and future plans, moving you even closer to your goal of confident, casual conversation.

A presto