A2Unit 8 of the A2 course · « Météo et vacances »
French weather sentences start with il: il fait beau, il pleut, il y a du vent. This page also untangles « il fait chaud » and « j'ai chaud », and gets you talking about holidays.
By the end of this unit you can: talk about the weather, plan a holiday and tell how it went.
French weather always starts with il, which here just means « it ». Three patterns: il fait + an adjective, il y a + du, de la or des, and a verb on its own.
Il fait chaud describes the weather. J'ai chaud says how you feel. Never say « je suis chaud »!
You met the seasons in A1. They're all masculine: en été, en automne and en hiver, but au printemps. Months take en too: en juillet.
Use il fait + a number + degrés. Below zero, say moins. The francophone world uses Celsius.
For a forecast or a plan, use the futur proche: aller + an infinitive. Il pleut becomes il va pleuvoir, and il fait beau becomes il va faire beau.
When you book, say what kind of room you want and for how many nights. Petit-déjeuner compris means breakfast is in the price.
To talk about a past holiday, use the imparfait for the setting: the weather, the place, how it was. Use the passé composé for what you did.
A postcard is short and friendly: Cher… or Chère…, where you are, the weather, what you did, then a warm goodbye.
Zoé, 7, and her little brother Léo are spending the summer at their grandmother's in Fort-de-France, Martinique. Papa had to stay in Lyon for work, so Zoé sends him a postcard. Read it and answer.
Tap 🔊 to hear each one, recorded by a native-sounding French voice.
| Listen | French | English |
|---|---|---|
| quel temps fait-il ? | what's the weather like?In everyday speech: il fait quel temps ? | |
| il fait beauIl fait beau à Dakar aujourd'hui. (The weather is nice in Dakar today.) | the weather is nice | |
| il fait mauvais | the weather is bad | |
| il fait chaud / il fait froid | it's hot / it's coldFor how you feel, use avoir: j'ai chaud, j'ai froid. | |
| il pleut | it's rainingFrom pleuvoir. Only with il: there's no « je pleus »! | |
| il neigeEn janvier, il neige beaucoup à Montréal. (In January, it snows a lot in Montreal.) | it's snowing | |
| il y a du vent | it's windy | |
| il y a du soleil | it's sunny | |
| il y a des nuages | it's cloudyYou'll also hear le ciel est nuageux. |
| Listen | French | English |
|---|---|---|
| il fait doux | it's mildNot hot, not cold: the weather of spring and autumn in Lyon. | |
| météo(feminine)Tu as vu la météo pour demain ? (Have you seen the forecast for tomorrow?) | weather forecast | |
| température(feminine)La température va baisser ce soir. (The temperature is going to drop this evening.) | temperature | |
| degré(masculine)Il fait trente degrés à Dakar. (It's thirty degrees in Dakar.) | degree | |
| orage(masculine) | thunderstormIl y a un orage, or il y a de l'orage. | |
| la saison des pluies | the rainy seasonThe rest of the year is la saison sèche, the dry season. |
| Listen | French | English |
|---|---|---|
| il va pleuvoir | it's going to rainAlso: il va neiger, il va faire beau. | |
| réserverOn va réserver un hôtel à Montréal. (We're going to book a hotel in Montreal.) | to book | |
| hôtel(masculine) | hotelThe h is silent: l'hôtel, and un hôtel sounds like « un-n-ôtel ». | |
| auberge de jeunesse(feminine) | youth hostel | |
| camping(masculine) | campsiteFaire du camping = to go camping. | |
| location(feminine) | holiday rentalNot a place! Une location is something you rent: a flat, a house, a car. | |
| chambre double(feminine) | double roomFor one person: une chambre simple. | |
| pour trois nuits | for three nights | |
| petit-déjeuner compris | breakfast included |
| Listen | French | English |
|---|---|---|
| c'était génial | it was greatC'était + an adjective describes the whole holiday: imparfait. | |
| il faisait beau | the weather was nice | |
| il y avait du monde | it was crowdedDu monde = a lot of people. Tout le monde = everybody. | |
| mer(feminine) | seaÀ la mer = at the seaside. | |
| montagne(feminine) | mountainsÀ la montagne = in the mountains. | |
| se baigner | to go swimming (in the sea, a river…)In the passé composé it takes être: nous nous sommes baignés. | |
| carte postale(feminine) | postcard | |
| je pense à toi | I'm thinking of youTo someone you say vous to: je pense à vous. | |
| grosses bises | lots of loveFor family and friends. Bisous is even more casual. |
This unit is part of French Ultimate's A2 course: 5 short lessons with an animated video each, speaking and listening practice, a reading and an end-of-unit test.
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