Learn how to give an opinion about the weather
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| Welcome to Can-Do French by FrenchPod101.com. |
| In this lesson, you’ll learn how to talk about the weather in French. |
| For example, "It’s hot today." is |
| Il fait chaud aujourd'hui. |
| Constance Collin sees her neighbor, Fleur Toussaint , and starts a conversation about the weather. |
| Before you hear their conversation, let's preview some of its key components. |
| chaud |
| "hot" |
| chaud |
| chaud |
| Listen to the conversation, and focus on Constance’s comment. |
| Ready? |
| Il fait chaud aujourd'hui. |
| Oui, en effet. |
| Once more with the English translation. |
| Il fait chaud aujourd'hui. |
| "It’s hot today." |
| Oui, en effet. |
| "Yes, indeed." |
| Let's break down the conversation. |
| Do you remember how Constance says, |
| "It’s hot today." |
| Il fait chaud aujourd'hui. |
| Let's start with the word, chaud, meaning "hot." Chaud. Chaud. |
| Before chaud is Il fait, literally, "it makes," but translates as "it’s," in this context. Il fait |
| First is Il, "It." Il. Il. |
| Next is fait, translating as “is,” in this context. Fait. Fait. |
| Note: fait is from the verb faire, meaning "to do," or "to make," but in this instance, when talking about the weather, it translates as "to be." Faire. |
| Last is aujourd’hui, meaning "today." Aujourd’hui. Aujourd’hui. |
| All together, il fait chaud aujourd’hui, literally, "It makes hot today," but translates as "It’s hot today." Il fait chaud aujourd’hui. |
| Let's take a closer look at the response. |
| Do you remember how Fleur Toussaint says: |
| "Yes, indeed." |
| Oui. En effet. |
| This starts with the expression, oui, meaning "yes." Oui.. Oui. |
| After this, en effet. Literally, "in fact," or in this case, a more natural translation, "Indeed." En effet. En effet. |
| All together, Oui, en effet. "Yes, indeed." |
| Oui, en effet. |
| The pattern is |
| Il fait WEATHER CONDITION aujourd’hui. |
| It is WEATHER CONDITION today. |
| Il fait WEATHER CONDITION aujourd’hui. |
| To use this pattern, simply replace the WEATHER CONDITION placeholder with a suitable adjective. |
| In this lesson, you'll learn adjectives related to the weather that you can use with this pattern. |
| Imagine it's cold. Froid. "Cold." Froid. Froid. |
| Say |
| "It’s cold today." |
| Ready? |
| Il fait froid aujourd'hui. |
| "It’s cold today. |
| Il fait froid aujourd'hui. |
| In French, you can’t use any adjective with the construction, il fait. It’s restricted to a small set of adjectives, such as the adjectives covered in this lesson and some others: |
| mauvais, “bad weather,” lourd, “heavy, sultry,” gris, “grey.” |
| Other adjectives appear in more complex sentences, or different patterns altogether. |
| Again, the key pattern is |
| Il fait WEATHER CONDITION aujourd’hui. |
| It is WEATHER CONDITION today. |
| Il fait WEATHER CONDITION aujourd’hui. |
| Let's look at some examples. |
| Listen and repeat or speak along with the native speakers. |
| Il fait chaud aujourd'hui. |
| "It's hot today." |
| Il fait chaud aujourd'hui. |
| Il fait froid aujourd'hui. |
| It's cold today." |
| Il fait froid aujourd'hui. |
| Il fait frais aujourd'hui. |
| "It's cool today." |
| Il fait frais aujourd'hui. |
| Il fait beau aujourd'hui. |
| "The weather's nice today." |
| Il fait beau aujourd'hui. |
| Il fait tellement chaud ! |
| "It's so hot!" |
| Il fait tellement chaud ! |
| Did you notice how tellement was added in the last sentence? |
| Il fait tellement chaud ! |
| “It’s so hot.” |
| Tellement is an intensifier, and it translates as "so," as in “so hot,” in this case. |
| Simply add it in front of the adjective to express a high degree of intensity. |
| The pattern is |
| tellement WEATHER CONDITION. |
| so WEATHER CONDITION. |
| Let's review the key vocabulary. |
| Chaud. |
| "Hot." |
| Chaud. Chaud. |
| Froid. |
| "Cold." |
| Froid. Froid. |
| Beau. |
| "Nice." |
| Beau. Beau. |
| Frais. |
| "Cool." |
| Frais. Frais. |
| Let's review. |
| Respond to the prompts by speaking aloud. Then repeat after the native speaker, focusing on pronunciation. |
| Ready? |
| Do you remember how to say "hot?" |
| Chaud. |
| Chaud. |
| And how to say "today?" |
| Aujourd'hui. |
| Aujourd'hui. |
| Do you remember how Constance Collin says, |
| "It’s hot today." |
| Il fait chaud aujourd'hui. |
| Il fait chaud aujourd'hui. |
| Do you remember how Fleur Toussaint says, |
| "Yes, indeed." |
| Oui, en effet. |
| Oui, en effet. |
| Do you remember how to say "cold?" |
| Froid. |
| Froid. |
| And how to say "nice?" |
| beau. |
| beau. |
| Let's practice. |
| Imagine you're Fleur. Comment to Constance that it's very cold, or froid. |
| Ready? |
| Il fait froid aujourd'hui. |
| Oui, en effet. |
| Listen again and repeat. |
| Il fait froid aujourd'hui. |
| Il fait froid aujourd'hui. |
| Let’s try another. |
| Imagine you're Coralie Collin. Comment to your classmate that it's hot, or chaud. |
| Ready? |
| Il fait chaud aujourd'hui. |
| Oui, en effet. |
| Listen again and repeat. |
| Il fait chaud aujourd'hui. |
| Il fait chaud aujourd'hui. |
| Let’s try one more. |
| Imagine you're Chirstophe Collin. |
| Comment to your neighbor that it' nice weather or fait beau. |
| Ready? |
| Il fait beau aujourd'hui. |
| Oui, en effet. |
| Listen again and repeat. |
| Il fait beau aujourd'hui. |
| Il fait beau aujourd'hui. |
| As in many countries, starting a conversation with some remarks about the weather is very common, so don’t hesitate to use this pattern to start a conversation. |
| France's climate is temperate. The South is famous for its sunny and hot summers. While the Brittany region, la Bretagne, is often perceived as a region where it rains continuously. |
| This is the end of this lesson. |
| In this lesson, you learned how to give an opinion about the weather, an essential skill for talking about the weather. |
| Remember, these Can Do lessons are about learning practical language skills. |
| What's next? |
| Show us what you can do. |
| When you're ready, take your assessment. |
| You can take it again and again, so try anytime you like. |
| Our teachers will assess it, and give you your results. |
| Keep practicing — and move on to the next lesson! |
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