Spring has arrived in Santiago! The trees are green, the sun is shining, and we can finally put away our winter coats. Today’s blog post will focus on the vocabulary you need to talk about spring, but we’ll also cover some basic formal and informal weather vocabulary. The weather is an especially useful topic to review if you’re working to improve your small talk skills.
COMMON WEATHER QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Q: What’s the weather like today? - Note that this question requires a descriptive answer.
A: It’s (adjective) out.
A: It’s (adjective) today.
*When answering this question, “it” always refers to the weather, and it’s important to include it as the subject of the sentence.
Q: What’s the temperature today? - Note that this question requires a numerical answer.
A: It’s (number) degrees today.
A: It’s (number) degrees out.
*Remember, if you’re speaking to an English speaker from the United States, you’ll have to convert from Celsius to Fahrenheit!
Q: What’s the forecast for the day/week? - Note that this question requires the prediction in the answer.
A: The forecast for the week is sunny and warm.
A: It’s forecast to be a beautiful week.
*Forecast is a future prediction or estimate
Q: How hot/cold is it outside? - Note that this question requires you to either specifically address the heat or the cold, nothing else.
A: It’s not very hot/cold.
A: It’s very hot/cold.
A: It’s nice out!
Q: Is it nice out today? - Note that this is a “yes” or “no” question.
A: Yes! It’s so nice out today!
A: No, it’s too (adjective). I.e. No, it’s too cold and rainy.
*Remember that “too” is used for emphasis, like demasiado
DESCRIBING THE TRANSITION BETWEEN SEASONS
It’s getting warmer! - It’s becoming warmer (slightly hotter). Remember, that in this case, “get” is a synonym for “become” and is used to describe a change of state.
Spring is coming. OR Spring has arrived. - We often talk about the seasons using action/travel verbs like “come” or “arrive.”
Spring arrived early/late.
It’s almost T-shirt weather! - An informal way of saying that it’s almost time to wear shirts with short sleeves.
ADJECTIVES TO DESCRIBE THE WEATHER
Sunny - when the sun is out!
Cloudy - when there are many clouds in the sky
Clear - when there are very few clouds in the sky
Cool - between hot and cold, but closer to cold
Warm - between hot and cold, but closer to hot
Mild - when it isn’t too hot or too cold, the temperature is nice
Pleasant - when the weather is nice and pleasing
Beautiful - when the weather is perfect!
PRECIPITATION AND MORE
Rain - water falling
Shower - a short rainfall
Drizzle - a very light rain
Breeze - a gentle wind
PLANT VOCABULARY
Bud - the start of a plant that eventually turns into a flower
Bloom - a time of flowering
Flower- flores, beautiful plants that especially grow in spring
Grow - the process of plants developing
OTHER SPRING VOCABULARY
Spring cleaning - In some places, it’s traditional to thoroughly clean your home when spring arrives.
Spring fever - Spring fever describes the feeling of excitement and restlessness in the spring when we want to do many things and spend all of our time outside!
Allergies - Springtime is also the time for pollen allergies. Many people are allergic to pollen from trees, flowers, and grass, so they suffer a lot during the spring.
Easter - Easter (or Pascua) is the most prominent spring holiday. It celebrates the resurrection of Jesus Christ. It also includes customs such as the Easter bunny and Easter egg hunts.
Written by Mariah Wika
Connectors help us to link our ideas, sentences and paragraphs together in English. If you want to speak at an Intermediate or Advanced level you must know how to use these 20 connectors!