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Voice setup

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10¿Qué tiempo hace?Section 4 of 8

10.4

Grammar

Talking about the weather

Look and think

Marta says , ; Lucas says . Which verbs are used?

Most weather expressions use hacer (third person, ) + a noun: , , , , .

Rain and snow have their own verbs: (it rains), (it snows). For right now: , . For clouds: .

Temperature: or . Ask:

verbexamples
hace + nounhace calor, hace frío, hace sol, hace viento
own verbllueve, nieva
está + adjectiveestá nublado
right nowestá lloviendo, está nevando

Examples

  • En verano hace mucho calor en Sevilla.
    In summer it's very hot in Seville.

  • En Galicia llueve mucho.
    It rains a lot in Galicia.

  • Hoy está nublado, pero no hace frío.
    Today it's cloudy, but it isn't cold.

Estar + gerundio: what is happening now

Look and think

Find , , . What do they describe?

Estar + gerundio describes an action in progress right now: (I'm studying (at this moment)).

Form the gerund: -ar → -ando (), -er / -ir → -iendo (, ). Some are irregular: , , (regular, but useful).

Use it less than English -ing. For habits and plans use the simple present: (I work in a bank), (I'm going to Vigo tomorrow).

estar + gerundio
estargerundio
yoestoyhablando
túestáscomiendo
él / ella / ustedestáescribiendo
nosotros / nosotrasestamosleyendo
vosotros / vosotrasestáishaciendo
ellos / ellas / ustedesestándurmiendo

Examples

  • ¿Qué estás haciendo?
    What are you doing?

  • Los niños están durmiendo.
    The children are sleeping.

  • Está lloviendo mucho.
    It's raining a lot.

Muy or mucho? And dates

Look and think

Lucas says , but Marta says . Why?

Muy goes before adjectives and adverbs: , , . Mucho goes with nouns (and agrees) or after verbs: , , , .

So, because and are nouns in , you say — never hace muy calor.

Dates: + number + + month: . The first day is (in Spain) or . Months have small letters. Ask: /

Spanishwritten
25 Decemberel veinticinco de diciembre25/12
1 Mayel uno (primero) de mayo1/5
4 July 2027el cuatro de julio de dos mil veintisiete4/7/2027

Examples

  • Mi cumpleaños es el tres de abril.
    My birthday is on the third of April.

  • Hace mucho frío y estoy muy cansado.
    It's very cold and I'm very tired.

  • En marzo llueve mucho.
    It rains a lot in March.