Learn how to ask about and how to describe the weather
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| Introduction |
| Virginie: Bonjour tout le monde! Hello, everyone. |
| Eric: Hello, Eric here. A French National Pass time You Must Know About. Talking About the Weather. |
| Virginie: So in this lesson, you will learn how to talk about the weather in French. |
| Eric: Exciting. |
| Virginie: Joe asks about the weather before heading to the office. |
| Eric: Right. So again, this conversation is still taking place at the front desk of the hotel. |
| Virginie: Let’s listen to the conversation. |
| Dialogue |
| Réceptionniste: Bonjour. |
| Joe : Bonjour. Quel temps fait-il aujourd'hui ? |
| Réceptionniste : Il va faire beau ce matin, mais il va pleuvoir cet après-midi. |
| Joe : Ah, les jours de pluie... |
| Réceptionniste : Oui, mauvais temps aujourd'hui, mais vous avez de la chance. L'été est d'habitude toujours beau en juin. |
| Joe : Vraiment ? |
| Réceptionniste : Oui, il y a beaucoup de soleil, le temps est vraiment agréable. |
| Joe : Merci. Où sont les taxis ? |
| Réceptionniste : Les taxis sont devant l'hôtel. |
| Joe : Merci. |
| Réceptionniste : Bonne journée, Monsieur. |
| Eric: One more time, a little more slowly. |
| Virginie: Encore une fois, plus lentement. |
| Réceptionniste : Bonjour. |
| Joe : Bonjour. Quel temps fait-il aujourd'hui ? |
| Réceptionniste : Il va faire beau ce matin, mais il va pleuvoir cet après-midi. |
| Joe : Ah, les jours de pluie... |
| Réceptionniste : Oui, mauvais temps aujourd'hui, mais vous avez de la chance. L'été est d'habitude toujours beau en juin. |
| Joe : Vraiment ? |
| Réceptionniste : Oui, il y a beaucoup de soleil, le temps est vraiment agréable. |
| Joe : Merci. Où sont les taxis ? |
| Réceptionniste : Les taxis sont devant l'hôtel. |
| Joe : Merci. |
| Réceptionniste : Bonne journée, Monsieur. |
| Eric: One more time, with the translation. |
| Virginie: Encore une fois, avec la traduction. |
| Réceptionniste : Bonjour. |
| Eric: Hello. |
| Joe : Bonjour. Quel temps fait-il aujourd'hui ? |
| Eric: Hello. What is the weather like today? |
| Réceptionniste : Il va faire beau ce matin, mais il va pleuvoir cet après-midi. |
| Eric: It will be sunny this morning, but it will rain this afternoon. |
| Joe : Ah, les jours de pluie... |
| Eric: Ah, rainy days... |
| Réceptionniste : Oui, mauvais temps aujourd'hui, mais vous avez de la chance. L'été est d'habitude toujours beau en juin. |
| Eric: Yes, bad weather today, but you are lucky. Summer is usually very sunny in June. |
| Joe : Vraiment ? |
| Eric: Really? |
| Réceptionniste : Oui, il y a beaucoup de soleil, le temps est vraiment agréable. |
| Eric: Yes, it is very sunny; the weather is really nice. |
| Joe : Merci. Où sont les taxis ? |
| Eric: Thank you. Where are the taxis? |
| Réceptionniste : Les taxis sont devant l'hôtel. |
| Eric: Taxis are in front of the hotel. |
| Joe : Merci. |
| Eric: Thank you. |
| Réceptionniste : Bonne journée, Monsieur. |
| Eric: Have a nice day, sir. |
| Post Conversation Banter |
| Eric: So what’s France’s climate like? |
| Virginie: It varies depending on the regions. In the north, it will be colder, of course, than in the south. |
| Eric: Right. |
| Virginie: Yeah, and where I come from, Toulouse, southwest, it never gets too cold. It never gets too hot. It’s perfect actually. |
| Eric: There actually was a movie that came out recently called Bienvenue chez les Ch'tis, Welcome to the Ch'tis residence, or place, and that’s about a guy who is relocated from the lovely climate of Nice, all the way up to Northern France. |
| Virginie: Yeah. That’s true. Did you see that movie? |
| Eric: I have, I loved it. |
| Virginie: Okay, good. It’s interesting because he is very scared to go up north because it’s supposed to be cold and awful and sad and rainy and in the end, he really likes it. |
| Eric: France’s climate doesn’t dictate if you like it or not. |
| Virginie: Exactly. |
| Eric: Okay. So let’s take a look at the vocabulary for today. |
| Vocab List |
| Eric: Let's take a look at the vocabulary for this lesson. |
| : The first word we shall see is: |
| Virginie: le temps [natural native speed] |
| Eric: climate, weather |
| Virginie: le temps [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Virginie: le temps [natural native speed]: Next: |
| Virginie: aujourd'hui [natural native speed] |
| Eric: today |
| Virginie: aujourd'hui [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Virginie: aujourd'hui [natural native speed]: Next: |
| Virginie: chaud(e) [natural native speed] |
| Eric: hot, warm |
| Virginie: chaud(e) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Virginie: chaud(e) [natural native speed]: Next: |
| Virginie: pleuvoir [natural native speed] |
| Eric: to rain |
| Virginie: pleuvoir [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Virginie: pleuvoir [natural native speed]: Next: |
| Virginie: la pluie [natural native speed] |
| Eric: the rain |
| Virginie: la pluie [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Virginie: la pluie [natural native speed]: Next: |
| Virginie: beau [natural native speed] |
| Eric: beautiful |
| Virginie: beau [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Virginie: beau [natural native speed]: Next: |
| Virginie: un taxi [natural native speed] |
| Eric: a taxi |
| Virginie: un taxi [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Virginie: un taxi [natural native speed]: Next: |
| Virginie: devant [natural native speed] |
| Eric: in front of |
| Virginie: devant [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Virginie: devant [natural native speed]: Next: |
| Virginie: un hôtel [natural native speed] |
| Eric: a hotel |
| Virginie: un hôtel [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Virginie: un hôtel [natural native speed]: Next: |
| Virginie: juin, le mois de juin [natural native speed] |
| Eric: June, the month of June |
| Virginie: juin, le mois de juin [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Virginie: juin, le mois de juin [natural native speed]: Next: |
| Virginie: un/une après-midi [natural native speed] |
| Eric: an afternoon |
| Virginie: un/une après-midi [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Virginie: un/une après-midi [natural native speed]: Next: |
| Virginie: d'habitude [natural native speed] |
| Eric: usually |
| Virginie: d'habitude [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Virginie: d'habitude [natural native speed]: Next: |
| Virginie: l'été [natural native speed] |
| Eric: the summer |
| Virginie: l'été [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Virginie: l'été [natural native speed]: Next: |
| Virginie: mauvais(e) [natural native speed] |
| Eric: bad |
| Virginie: mauvais(e) [slowly - broken down by syllable] |
| Virginie: mauvais(e) [natural native speed] |
| Vocabulary and Phrase Usage |
| Eric: Let's have a closer look at the usage for some of the words and phrases from this lesson. |
| Virginie: The first word/phrase we’ll look at is.... |
| Virginie: Our first word is juin. |
| Eric: June. |
| Virginie: I love Juin |
| Eric: Hmmm yes it's the beginning of the summer |
| Virginie: Things get slower, the sun shines |
| Eric: And you can have drinks on French terrasses |
| Virginie: You know, I could also say I love "le mois de juin" |
| Eric: that's true, and that's literally the month of June. |
| Virginie: Yes it's just another way to say a month. |
| Eric: That works for every month right? |
| Virginie: Oui. While we're at it, Eric, let's talk about the other summer months |
| Eric: OK. Let's start with July. |
| Virginie: July in French is Juillet, or, le mois de juillet. |
| Eric: Le mois de juillet est magnifique a Paris. |
| Virginie: that's true, July is usually gorgeous in Paris |
| Eric: What about august? |
| Virginie: Aout? Or le mois d'aout? |
| Eric: It's too hot in August. |
| Virginie: It's never too hot. |
| Eric: And the last month of the summer, before it gets cold and rainy |
| Virginie: It's Septembre |
| Eric: September. |
| Virginie: So, again, we have, juin, juillet, aout, and septembre! |
| Eric: Alright, what about this word, apres-midi? |
| Virginie: Yes, apres-midi is afternoon, and it's hermaphrodite |
| Eric: Hermaphrodite? |
| Virginie: Yes it can be used with both male and female |
| Eric: Oh, I see. Are there a lot of words like that in French? |
| Virginie: No, actually, I can't even think of another one. |
| Eric: So we can either say un apres-midi or une apres-midi. |
| Virginie: Tout a fait. Absolutely. |
| Eric: OK. I like that apres-midi literally means after noon |
| Virginie: Yes just like in English. Except for the two words after and noon have a dash between them. |
| Eric: So, Virginie, do you prefer l'apres-midi or le matin |
| Virginie: Oh, le matin! The morning. I prefer the morning. |
| Eric: Really? I don't really like le matin. |
| Virginie: Le matin, c'est bien! Morning is great! |
| Eric: Ah, you sound like a commercial. |
| Virginie: Ahah. Now before we get to the grammar point. Eric, are you a lucky person? |
| Eric: I think so. why? |
| Virginie: I just want to mention that phrase in our dialogue |
| Eric: Oh yes the front desk person says "you are lucky |
| Virginie: Yes and in French, it is "vous avez de la chance" |
| Eric: Literally, you have some luck |
| Virginie: Vous is you (formal), avez is "have", de la is some and finally, chance is "luck". |
| Eric: Vous avez de la chance. |
| Virginie: OK let's talk about grammar |
| Eric: And about the weather. |
Lesson focus |
|---|
| Virginie: Let's see how Joe asks about the weather. |
| Eric: He says What's the weather like today? |
| Virginie: And that's "quel temps fait-il aujourd'hui? |
| Eric: Let's break down this question. |
| Virginie: Oui, first, quel is what, we saw that in a previous lesson |
| Eric: Then we have the word "temps" |
| Virginie: And that's weather. |
| Eric: and finally, and that's important, we have "fait-il" |
| Virginie: That's the verb faire, to do, used with the impersonal pronoun il, which in English would be "it" |
| Eric: So, literally fait-il is “does it make?” |
| Virginie: Quel temps fait-il? |
| Eric: Literally - What weather does it make? |
| Virginie: Again, quel temps fait-il? |
| Eric: Nice. Now let's see what the front desk person answers. |
| Virginie: He answers "Il va faire beau ce matin, mais il va pleuvoir cet apres-midi |
| Eric: First we have il va faire beau |
| Virginie: That means "it's going to be nice, or it's going to be sunny.” |
| Eric: We have a very specific structure here. |
| Virginie: Yes, it's il va, |
| Eric: It's going to. |
| Virginie: And then faire, which is the infinitive of the verb faire, to do, or to make. |
| Eric: And then we have beau, which is literally beautiful, and here it means nice. |
| Virginie: Let's recap slowly. Il va faire beau. |
| Eric: What if I want to say it in the present tense, "the weather is nice”? |
| Virginie: Then you will say Il fait beau |
| Eric: So basically it's il + fait (which is makes or does) and beau (which is still, beautiful |
| Virginie: Il fait beau. It’s beautiful! Or, the weather is beautiful. |
| Eric: Let's have a little practice. |
| Virginie: Quel temps fait-il? |
| Eric: Il fait beau. Et demain? what about tomorrow |
| Virginie: Il va faire beau demain. |
| Eric: Great. But then the front desk person says that it's going to rain. |
| Virginie: Il va pleuvoir. |
| Eric: So we have the same structure again. |
| Virginie: Oui, we have il va. |
| Eric: It's going to |
| Virginie: And then the verb pleuvoir. |
| Eric: And that's the infinitive verb to rain. Can we hear it once again? |
| Virginie: Il va pleuvoir. |
| Eric: Now how would I say "it's rainy" |
| Virginie: Present tense. Il pleut. |
| Eric: Literally it rains. |
| Virginie: You can refer to our lesson notes if you want to get more weather talk, the cloud, the sun, and the snow. |
| Eric: Take a look. |
| Virginie: Now we're going to talk about adjectives, French adjectives. It can be also very useful when you talk about the weather. |
| Eric: So If I want to say it's nice out today, do I say Il fait beau. What if I want to say is nasty out? |
| Virginie: It's actually in the dialogue, the front desk person says, bad weather today, "mauvais temps aujourd'hui" |
| Eric: And in this case, the adjective is coming before the noun, it's mauvais temps aujourd'hui. |
| Virginie: Yeah, bad weather today. You know, in France, the place of the adjectives varies depending on what the adjective describes. So it can either be before the noun or after the noun. |
| Eric: Which in the previous lessons we've seen some adjectives that come after the noun, but here's some adjectives that are coming before the noun. |
| Virginie: Adjectives that describe Beauty will go before the noun, for example, |
| Eric: la belle fille. |
| Virginie: La belle fille, the beautiful girl. So belle here, beautiful, is placed before its noun, girl. |
| Eric: And it’s the same for age. |
| Virginie: Yes, whenever you are going to describe someone who is old or young, the adjective will be placed before the noun again. So, for example, |
| Eric: Le jeune homme. |
| Virginie: Le jeune homme means the young man. And jeune, which is young, is placed before homme, which is man. |
| Eric: So it’s gonna be the same for descriptions of good or bad |
| Virginie: Just like in our dialogue actually, mauvais temps, bad weather, and beau temps, nice weather. |
| Eric: And finally, you’ll also be placing the adjectives to describe size before the noun. |
| Virginie: For example, un grand homme |
| Eric: a tall man |
| Virginie: And here again, grand is placed before homme. Un grand homme. But otherwise, most of the time French adjectives are placed after the noun, for example, un taxi jaune, a Yellow Cab. |
| Eric: Exactly. |
| Virginie: Ok, we will see that in another lesson, I’m sure. |
Outro |
| Eric: I guess that just about wrapped up the lesson. |
| Virginie: Thank you Eric! And thank you all for listening! Merci ! |
| Eric: Merci ! À bientôt ! |
| Virginie: À bientôt ! Bye-bye! |
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