Italian · Elementary (A2) · Chapter 6 of 12
Weather and seasons
Che tempo fa?
Talk about the weather and the seasons in Italian, give the temperature, and say what will happen with the future tense.
In this chapter you'll learn to
- Ask and say what the weather is like
- Name the seasons and give the temperature
- Say what will happen with the future tense
- Understand a simple weather forecast
Listen
Laura lives in Trento. She has a video call with her grandfather Pietro, who lives in Cagliari, in Sardinia. Listen to the whole dialogue first, then line by line.
Nonno Pietro
Ciao, Laura. Che tempo fa a Trento?
Hi, Laura. What's the weather like in Trento?
Laura
Fa freddo, nonno. Ci sono due gradi e nevica.
It's cold, Grandad. It's two degrees and it's snowing.
Nonno Pietro
Qui a Cagliari c'è il sole e ci sono diciotto gradi.
Here in Cagliari it's sunny and it's eighteen degrees.
Laura
Beato te! Qui l'inverno è lunghissimo.
Lucky you. Here the winter is really long.
Nonno Pietro
Allora, quando vieni in Sardegna?
So, when are you coming to Sardinia?
Laura
Verrò a Pasqua, ad aprile. Starò una settimana.
I'll come at Easter, in April. I'll stay for a week.
Nonno Pietro
Che bello! Ad aprile farà già caldo. Potremo andare al mare.
Lovely. In April it'll already be warm. We'll be able to go to the seaside.
Laura
Speriamo. E domani che tempo farà a Cagliari?
Let's hope so. And what will the weather be like in Cagliari tomorrow?
Nonno Pietro
Secondo le previsioni, domani pioverà.
According to the forecast, it'll rain tomorrow.
Laura
Allora cosa farai?
So what will you do?
Nonno Pietro
Starò a casa con la nonna e leggerò un libro.
I'll stay at home with Grandma and read a book.
Laura
Va bene, nonno. Ci sentiamo domenica.
All right, Grandad. Talk to you on Sunday.
Understand
What's the weather like?
To ask about the weather, say Many answers use (from ): , . Others use : , . Rain and snow have their own verbs: (it's raining), (it's snowing).
For the temperature, say + the number + : . The seasons are (spring), (summer, feminine), (autumn) and (winter). “In winter” is or ; “in summer” is or .
| Italian | English |
|---|---|
| It's hot. / It's warm. | |
| It's cold. | |
| The weather's nice. | |
| The weather's bad. | |
| It's sunny. | |
| It's windy. | |
| It's cloudy. | |
| It's raining. | |
| It's snowing. |
The future: regular verbs
The says what will happen: (It will rain tomorrow). Take off the final -e of the infinitive and add -ò, -ai, -à, -emo, -ete, -anno. In -are verbs, the a changes to e: → .
The and / forms end in an accented vowel, and that's where the stress falls: , . For plans that are already fixed, Italians also often use the present: .
| Person | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| / / | |||
Irregular futures
Some common verbs have a short or irregular stem, but the endings are always the same: -ò, -ai, -à, -emo, -ete, -anno. So gives … and gives …
| Infinitive | Future (io) | Example |
|---|---|---|
More in the grammar: The futuro semplice: will
New words
- il nonno / la nonnagrandfather / grandmother · , = Grandad, Grandma
- Che tempo fa?What's the weather like?
- fa freddoit's cold · = it's hot
- il gradodegree · masculine; = it's two degrees
- nevicareto snow · = it's snowing; = it's raining
- il solesun · masculine; = it's sunny
- l'invernowinter · masculine
- lungolong · feminine: ; : the h keeps the g hard
- PasquaEaster · = at Easter
- giàalready
- il maresea, seaside · masculine; = to go to the seaside
- Speriamo.Let's hope so. · from (to hope)
- le previsioniforecast · feminine plural; = according to the forecast
- Ci sentiamo.Talk to you soon. / Speak soon. · on the phone or in messages
Practise
1.It's 35 degrees in Rome. What do you say?
2.Complete with the future of (to rain).
According to the forecast, it'll rain tomorrow.
3.Complete with the future of (io).
I'll come at Easter.
4.Put the words in order.
Tap the words below in the right order.What's the weather like in Trento?
5.Complete: “Domani ___ a casa.” (I'll be)
6.Match the Italian with the English.
Pick a word on the left, then its meaning on the right.
0 of 6 exercises done.
Say it out loud
Che tempo fa oggi?
What's the weather like today?
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.