German · Elementary (A2) · Chapter 6 of 12
Weather and seasons
Das Wetter
Talk about the weather and the seasons in German, understand a forecast, and talk about the future with werden and the present.
In this chapter you'll learn to
- Describe the weather and the temperature
- Name the seasons
- Say what the weather will be like with werden
- Use the present tense for plans
Listen
Nina lives in Hamburg. She phones her grandmother Ingrid in Rostock before her visit at the weekend. Listen to the whole dialogue first, then line by line.
Nina
Hallo, Oma! Wie ist das Wetter bei euch in Rostock?
Hi, Grandma. What's the weather like where you are in Rostock?
Ingrid
Heute ist es kalt und windig, und es regnet seit heute Morgen.
Today it's cold and windy, and it's been raining since this morning.
Nina
Oh nein. Ich komme am Samstag. Wie wird das Wetter dann?
Oh no. I'm coming on Saturday. What will the weather be like then?
Ingrid
Im Wetterbericht haben sie gesagt, am Samstag wird es sonnig.
They said on the weather forecast that it will be sunny on Saturday.
Nina
Super! Und wie warm wird es?
Great. And how warm will it be?
Ingrid
Nur zwölf Grad. Im April ist es hier oft noch kalt.
Only twelve degrees. In April it's often still cold here.
Nina
Dann nehme ich einen Pullover mit.
Then I'll bring a jumper.
Ingrid
Gute Idee. Und am Sonntag wird es wahrscheinlich regnen.
Good idea. And on Sunday it will probably rain.
Nina
Das macht nichts. Dann backen wir zusammen einen Kuchen.
That doesn't matter. Then we'll bake a cake together.
Ingrid
Ja, gern! Und im Sommer gehen wir wieder zusammen schwimmen.
Yes, lovely. And in summer we'll go swimming together again.
Nina
Genau. Bis Samstag, Oma!
Exactly. See you on Saturday, Grandma.
Understand
Talking about the weather
Weather sentences often start with : (it's raining), (it's snowing). For what the weather is like, use …: , . For the sun, say (the sun is shining).
Temperatures are in degrees Celsius: (it's twelve degrees). Below zero, say : . To ask, say or
| German | English | Noun |
|---|---|---|
| It's raining. | (rain) | |
| It's snowing. | (snow) | |
| The sun is shining. | (sun) | |
| It's windy. | (wind) | |
| It's cloudy. | (cloud) | |
| There's a thunderstorm. | (thunderstorm) | |
| / / | It's hot / warm / cold. | – |
The future: werden and the present
For plans, German usually just uses the present tense with a time word: (I'm coming on Saturday). (then we'll bake a cake).
To say what you think will happen, for example in a weather forecast, use + infinitive. stands in second position and the infinitive goes to the end, as with modal verbs: On its own, means “to become, to get”: (it's getting cold), so asks what the weather will be like.
| Person | |
|---|---|
| / / | |
| / |
- Morgen wird es regnen.It will rain tomorrow.
- Ich werde im Mai dreißig.I'll be thirty in May.
- Am Wochenende fahren wir nach Rostock.We're going to Rostock at the weekend.
The seasons
All four seasons are masculine, and like months they take : (in spring), , (in autumn), .
| German | English |
|---|---|
| spring | |
| summer | |
| autumn | |
| winter |
More in the grammar: German numbers: from 0 to a million · Talking about the future: present tense and werden
New words
- die Omagrandma · feminine, plural: ; = grandpa
- das Wetterweather · neuter, no plural
- kaltcold
- windigwindy
- regnento rain · ; Perfekt:
- heute Morgenthis morning
- der Wetterberichtweather forecast · masculine, plural:
- sonnigsunny
- warmwarm
- der Graddegree · masculine; after a number it stays :
- nochstill · = It's still cold.
- mitnehmento take (with you), to bring · separable: ,
- der Pulloverjumper, sweater · masculine, plural:
- wahrscheinlichprobably
Practise
1.It's 30 °C and the sun is shining. What do you say?
2.Complete with the right form of .
It will rain tomorrow.
3.Complete with the right form of .
I'll be thirty in May.
4.Write or .
It often snows in winter.
5.Put the words in order.
Tap the words below in the right order.It will be sunny on Saturday.
6.Match the weather words.
Pick a word on the left, then its meaning on the right.
0 of 6 exercises done.
Say it out loud
Wie wird das Wetter morgen?
What will the weather be like tomorrow?
Listen, then say it out loud, as close to the recording as you can.
Check
Five questions on this chapter. Then mark it as finished to add its words to your review deck.
0 of 5 answered.