Weather is the safest subject in English and the most common. It opens conversations with strangers, fills silences, and changes what everyone does that day. Eight words will cover almost all of it.
1. Looking Out the Window
Nina: What's it like out there?
Yuri: Grey. It looks like rain.
Nina: Do I need a coat?
Yuri: Take an umbrella at least.
Nina: It's always the day I forget.
2. A Sudden Shower
Ade: It's pouring.
Kim: It was sunny an hour ago.
Ade: Shall we wait it out?
Kim: It'll pass in ten minutes.
Ade: Coffee while we wait, then.
Kim: Now you're talking.
3. Too Hot to Move
Rafa: How hot is it?
Lea: Thirty-eight.
Rafa: That's the highest this year.
Lea: Stay inside until five.
Rafa: Is the fan working?
Lea: Barely.
4. Wind and a Ruined Umbrella
Otto: The wind's picking up.
Sara: My umbrella just turned inside out.
Otto: Put it away. It's useless now.
Sara: Third one this winter.
Otto: Buy a heavier one.
5. Checking the Forecast
Mila: What does the forecast say?
Ben: Cloudy tomorrow, sun on Sunday.
Mila: So Sunday for the picnic.
Ben: If the forecast is right.
Mila: It never is.
Ben: Sunday anyway.
6. The First Cold Morning
Ivo: It's freezing this morning.
Hana: Winter's here, then.
Ivo: There was frost on the car.
Hana: Already? It's only November.
Ivo: It gets earlier every year.
7. A Perfect Day
Elsa: What a beautiful day.
Tom: Not a cloud in the sky.
Elsa: We should be outside.
Tom: I've got an hour free.
Elsa: The park, then.
Tom: Give me five minutes.
8. Which Season Do You Prefer?
Dara: Which season do you prefer?
Nils: Autumn. It's cool but not cold.
Dara: I like summer.
Nils: Even at thirty-eight degrees?
Dara: Especially then.
Nils: You're not normal.
Words to know
| forecast | what the weather is expected to be What does the forecast say? |
| shower | a short period of rain It'll pass. It's only a shower. |
| pour | to rain very hard It's pouring. |
| cloudy | with a lot of cloud and little sun Cloudy tomorrow, sun on Sunday. |
| freezing | extremely cold It's freezing this morning. |
| frost | the thin white ice that forms overnight There was frost on the car. |
| humid | hot with a lot of water in the air It's not hot, it's humid. |
| season | one of the four parts of the year Which season do you prefer? |
Quick practice
Complete each sentence with an expression from the lessons.
1. A: What's it like out there?
B: Grey. It looks like ________.
2. A: It's ________.
B: It was sunny an hour ago.
3. A: The wind's ________ up.
B: My umbrella just turned inside out.
4. A: What does the ________ say?
B: Cloudy tomorrow, sun on Sunday.
5. A: It's ________ this morning.
B: Winter's here, then.
6. A: Which ________ do you prefer?
B: Autumn. It's cool but not cold.
Show the answers
1. rain 2. pouring 3. picking 4. forecast 5. freezing 6. season
Common mistakes
Not: How is the weather like today?
Say: What's the weather like today?
The pattern is What ... like? Never How ... like?
Not: Today is a very hot weather.
Say: It's very hot today.
Weather is uncountable, so it takes no a. For temperature, English simply starts with It's.
Not: In the winter it makes cold.
Say: In winter it gets cold.
Use get for a change, not make. And seasons in general take no the.
Your turn
Look outside right now. Say these five things aloud before you read any further.
- Describe today's weather in three sentences.
- Say what the forecast is for tomorrow.
- Name your favorite season and give one reason.
- Describe the worst weather you have ever been out in.
- Ask a stranger about the weather in a natural, friendly way.
Quick review
Weather is the one subject you can practice every single day without planning. Each morning, before you touch your phone, say one sentence out loud about the sky. Thirty days of that and the words stop needing translation.