Five-minute Spanish Lessons - Lesson 3.

Talking about the weather.

It is an anecdote that the British talk more about the weather than any other nationality. This could be because the weather provides a lot to talk about in the British Isles! Let's compare weather phrases between English and Spanish.

Most weather statements in English begin with the subject "It" and the verb used is usually "to be" or "there is / are" while in Spanish the verb is usually "hacer", "estar" or "haber" ("hay" etc.):

What's the weather like today?

¿Qué tiempo hace hoy?

or,

¿Cómo está el tiempo?

It's very cold and cloudy.

Hace mucho frío y está nublado.

There was a lot of mist on the road yesterday.

Ayer había bastante neblina en la carretera.

If it's not fine tomorrow, that'll mean the excursion to the mountains is off.

Si no hace buen tiempo mañana, se acabó la excursión a la sierra.

What awful weather in Scotland; it doesn't stop snowing.

Qué mal tiempo hace en Escocia; no deja de nevar.

It's been lovely weather throughout the whole holiday.

Ha hecho un tiempo precioso durante todas la vacaciones.

or,

We've had lovely weather...

El tiempo ha estado precioso...

Also possible is:

Nos ha hecho un tiempo precioso...

However, as is usual with "ser" and "estar" the latter talks about changing events whereas "ser" is used when we talk about what is usual:

Últimamente, el tiempo ha estado fatal con lluvias y humedad.

Qué raro, normalmente el tiempo es bueno aquí.

Lately, the weather's been terrible with rain and damp.

How strange, the weather is usually good here.

Let's just compare the tenses of "to be" / "hacer" for talking about the weather:

It + be + adjective

Hacer + noun

It's sunny today.

(continuous not possible in English with verb "to be")

It's being sunny.

Hace sol hoy.

But possible in Spanish is the continuos:

Está haciendo sol.

It's been sunny all week.

Ha hecho sol toda la semana.

It was sunny yesterday.

Hacía sol ayer.

or,

Hizo sol.

It'll be sunny tomorrow.

or,

It's going to be sunny tomorrow.

Habrá sol mañana.

or,

Va ha haber sol mañana.

It may / might / could be sunny tomorrow.

Puede que haga sol mañana.

Differences in use of 'weather words' are the following not to confuse:

It was scorching / sweltering all day but now it's cooled off.

Ha hecho un calor sofocante todo el día pero ahora ha refrescado.

It's very humid in Florida.

Es muy húmedo en Florida.

but,

It's damp and cold in Britain at Christmas

Es húmedo y frío en Gran Bretaña en Navidades

So, "humid" in English is usually just used when it's hot.

Another interesting word for "humid" or "damp" is "muggy":

I'm fed up with this muggy weather.

Estoy harto de este tiempo bochornoso.

The day's become very overcast.

El día se ha puesto muy cubierto / nublado.

I finish with the wisdom of some weather proverbs:

English...

Red sky in the morning: shepherd's warning.

Red sky at night: shepherd's delight.

The Spanish have a proverb for the second part:

El cielo rojo por la noche anuncia buen tiempo.

Make the best of a bad job.

Al mal tiempo buena cara.

Spain has weather proverbs for each month of the year. here are two...

Hasta el 14 de mayo no te quites el sayo.

Don't take off your cape until 14th May as the weather can still get cold.

En febrero, busca la sombra el perro; y en marzo, su amo.

It gets hot enough in Spain in February for a dog to look for shade and in March his master does the same.

Top

 

 

Copyright 2022 English Spanish Link
All rights reserved