why hace sol and esta nublando

Question

why do you say hace sol and hace nevar but esta nublado

Answer 1

Actually, "estar" is used with nevar and llover, too.

I remember reading an explanation that for "hace" it actually comes from "He makes" as in "God makes".

Hace calor. He makes heat. -or- It is hot out.

Hace sol. He makes sun. -or- It is sunny.

Hace frío. He makes cold. -or- It is cold out.

Está nevando. It is snowing.

Está lloviendo. It is raining.

Está nublado. It is cloudy.

Now... the way that I remember it, which has mostly worked... is that I can touch snow, rain, and clouds. But I can't touch heat, sun, or cold. I can touch something hot or cold, but not heat or cold itself... perhaps only God can do that.

thanks for the quick response great help - lesdaniar, Nov 12, 2011

Answer 2

Nice memory trick, but don't count Him out as far as both sunshine and rain:

Mateo 5:45

Reina-Valera 1995 (RVR1995)

45 para que seáis hijos[a] de vuestro Padre que está en los cielos, que hace salir su sol sobre malos y buenos y llover sobre justos e injustos.