Deutsch · A1 · vocabulary · 4 minutes
Weather
Use impersonal es and fixed expressions for everyday forecasts.
Understand the choice
German mixes impersonal weather frames with ordinary noun-based clauses. Learn which expression belongs to each phenomenon instead of forcing every item after ist.
Core rule: Weather uses es ist + adjective, es regnet/schneit, or a weather noun as subject.
Notice it in context
Heute ist es kalt, aber morgen scheint die Sonne.
Today it is cold, but tomorrow the sun will shine.
Es is the impersonal subject of ist kalt; Sonne is the subject of scheint.
Am Abend gibt es Regen und starken Wind.
In the evening there will be rain and strong wind.
Es gibt introduces expected conditions; Regen and Wind are weather nouns.
Im Winter liegt oft Schnee auf den Straßen.
In winter there is often snow on the roads.
Schnee is the subject; liegt describes settled snow.
What to remember
- Bewölkt describes a cloudy sky; wolkig is also common in forecasts.
- Es gibt means there is/are and always takes accusative.
Common trap: Do not say es ist Regen. Use es regnet or es gibt Regen.