Subjunctive and the weather
I just completed lesson 3.1. I wanted to use "Es bueno que haga frío" for one of my examples of an impersonal expression using the subjunctive, meaning that it is good that the weather is cold. Is this correct? It seems really WEIRDO to me! Also, how would I say "It is good that the weather is getting cooler?" Thanks!
3 Answers
"Es bueno que haga frío" is totally correct, when the speaker knows that his listener knows this fact (that it's cold) - which is almost always the case in this type of structure. Using the indicative with "es bueno que" sounds strange, as if the speaker halfway through the sentence realizes that "oh, wait, this is unknown to my listener", or something similar.
However, if you say "Lo bueno es que..." you can use either indicative or subjunctive, based on whether or not you want to inform about what you're about to say. You use the subjunctive when you specifically don't want/need to convey that info, either because you don't know if it's true, or because you know that it's already known to your listener.
An other alternative: with the colloquial "¡Qué bueno que..." you very often use indicative even when the fact is known to the other party ("¡Qué bueno que preguntaste!").
Isn't the subjunctive easy and fun?
"Es bueno que haga frío"
Is more like "I like it when it's cold" (a general preference for cold weather) rather than "Es bueno que hace frio" (It is cold and that's the way I like it).
Es bueno que el tiempo se haga más frío.
If yours is correct, then mine probably is too, If yours is wrong, then, that's what I get for listening to you. 
