Weather Expressions
In Italian, weather is expressed without a subject pronoun (no 'it'). You use specific verbs like piove (it rains), fare for temperature (fa freddo), or esserci for phenomena (c'è il sole).
How It Works
Italian weather expressions fall into four main categories:
- Impersonal Verbs: For precipitation, use the verb directly in the 3rd person singular.
Example: Piove (It is raining), Nevica (It is snowing). - Fare + Adjective/Noun: Used for general conditions and temperature.
Example: Fa caldo (It is hot), Fa bel tempo (The weather is nice). - Esserci (C'è): Used to state the presence of a phenomenon.
Example: C'è il sole (It is sunny), C'è vento (It is windy). - Essere + Adjective: Used for the state of the sky.
Example: È nuvoloso (It is cloudy).
Note on Past Tenses: When using the passato prossimo, weather verbs like piovere can take either essere or avere as an auxiliary (È piovuto or Ha piovuto).
Examples (5)
- Oggi fa molto caldo in Sicilia.
Today it is very hot in Sicily.
Word by Word: Today makes much hot in Sicily.
We use 'fa' (from the verb 'fare') to describe the ambient temperature.
- Guarda fuori, piove di nuovo!
Look outside, it's raining again!
Word by Word: Look outside, rains of new!
'Piove' is the 3rd person singular of 'piovere'. No subject pronoun is used.
- Non usciamo perché c'è troppo vento.
We aren't going out because it's too windy.
Word by Word: Not we go out because there is too much wind.
We use 'c'è' (there is) to describe the presence of wind.
- In montagna nevica spesso d'inverno.
In the mountains, it snows often in winter.
Word by Word: In mountain snows often of winter.
'Nevica' is the impersonal form of 'nevicare'.
- Che tempo fa a Roma?
What is the weather like in Rome?
Word by Word: What weather makes at Rome?
This is the standard question to ask about the weather.
Common Mistakes
Using 'essere' instead of 'fare' for temperature.
Oggi è freddo.Oggi fa freddo.'È freddo' describes an object (like a cold soup). To describe the weather, you must use 'fa freddo'.
Using a subject pronoun like 'esso' or 'lui'.
Lui piove.Piove.Italian weather verbs are impersonal; adding a subject pronoun is ungrammatical.
Confusing 'Che tempo fa' with 'Quanto tempo fa'.
Quanto tempo fa a Milano?Che tempo fa a Milano?'Che tempo fa' asks about weather. 'Quanto tempo fa' means 'How long ago'.
How It Connects
Learn This First
To talk about the weather in Italian, you need to know how to use the irregular verb 'fare' for temperature and general conditions, the existential 'c'è' for atmospheric phenomena, and basic verb conjugations for impersonal verbs like 'piove' or 'nevica'.
- andare / fare / dare / stareIrregular Presente: Andare, Fare, Dare, Stare
The verb 'fare' is used in many common weather expressions like 'fa caldo' or 'fa freddo'.
Level 1 - c'è / ci sonoThere Is / There Are
The expression 'c'è' is used to describe weather conditions involving nouns, such as 'c'è il sole' or 'c'è vento'.
Level 1 - Present Tense: -ere Verbs
Common weather verbs like 'piovere' (to rain) follow the standard second conjugation pattern in the third person singular.
Level 1
Related Patterns
Learn Next
Patterns that build on this one.
Sources
Practice Weather Expressions in Bubblegum
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