Portuguese · CEFR Band 1 (A1) · Chapter 28
Que tempo faz?What's the weather like?
Talking about the weather and the seasons. Vocabulary: o tempo, o sol, a chuva, o vento, o calor, o frio, nublado, chover, o verão, o inverno. Key point: the weather uses two verbs — "fazer" with a noun ("Faz calor" = It is hot, "Faz frio", "Faz sol", "Faz vento") and "estar" with an adjective or gerund ("Está quente", "Está nublado", "Está chovendo" = It is raining). You never use "ser" for the weather. English speakers say "É calor" ✗ (from English "it is hot") → "Está calor" / "Faz calor" ✓. The seasons: a primavera, o verão, o outono, o inverno — "No verão faz calor" (In summer it is hot).
Dialogue
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É calor? Está calor!
- LucasMike, que tempo faz aí no Rio?Mike, what is the weather like there in Rio?
- MikeHoje é muito calor.Today it is very hot. (slip: weather never uses "ser" — say "está calor" or "faz calor")
- LucasPara o tempo, use estar ou fazer: "Está calor" ou "Faz calor". Nunca "é".For the weather, use estar or fazer: "Está calor" or "Faz calor". Never "é".
- MikeEntendi. Hoje está calor e faz sol. Amanhã vai chover.Got it. Today it is hot and sunny. Tomorrow it will rain.
- LucasPerfeito! Aqui está frio e nublado. Estamos no inverno.Perfect! Here it is cold and cloudy. We are in winter.
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O tempo no fim de semana— The weather at the weekend
- BiaComo está o tempo hoje? Vamos à praia?What is the weather like today? Shall we go to the beach?
- LucasAgora está nublado e faz vento. Mas de tarde vai fazer sol.Right now it is cloudy and windy. But in the afternoon it will be sunny.
- BiaEntão vamos de tarde. No verão faz calor demais ao meio-dia.Then let's go in the afternoon. In summer it is too hot at midday.
- LucasCombinado. Levo água, porque com esse calor a gente tem sede rápido.Agreed. I'll bring water, because with this heat you get thirsty fast.
Vocabulary
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- o tempo
n.m.the weather (also: time)
- o sol
n.m.sun (fazer sol = to be sunny)
- a chuva
n.f.rain
- o vento
n.m.wind
- o calor
n.m.heat (Está calor = it is hot)
- o frio
n.m.cold (Está frio = it is cold)
- nublado
adjectivecloudy
- chover
verbto rain (Está chovendo = it is raining)
- o verão
n.m.summer
- o inverno
n.m.winter
Grammar
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The weather: fazer and estar (never ser)
Explanation
To talk about the weather, Portuguese uses two impersonal verbs. With a NOUN, you use "fazer": "Faz calor" (it is hot), "Faz frio", "Faz sol", "Faz vento" — literally "it makes heat". With an ADJECTIVE or a gerund (verb in -ndo), you use "estar": "Está quente", "Está nublado", "Está chovendo" (it is raining), "Está ventando". What you NEVER use is "ser": you do not say "É calor". People coming from English translate "it is hot" word for word and say "É calor" ✗; the correct form is "Está calor" or "Faz calor" ✓. Watch two cousins: "calor/frio" are nouns (they go with faz/está calor), but "quente/frio-adjective" describe things: "A água está quente" (the water is hot). Seasons take "no/na": "No verão faz calor", "No inverno faz frio", "Na primavera faz sol". To ask: "Que tempo faz hoje?" (What is the weather like today?) or "Como está o tempo?".
Examples
- Hoje faz calor e faz sol.Today it is hot and sunny.
- Está chovendo, leve o guarda-chuva.It is raining, take the umbrella.
- No inverno faz frio e o céu fica nublado.In winter it is cold and the sky gets cloudy.
- Que tempo faz aí? — Está ventando muito.What is the weather like there? — It is very windy.
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