Weather and how to structure the answer to "¿Qué tiempo hace?"

Question

What's the difference between está and hacer when describing weather and certain types of weather? Rain, snow, sunny, etc

Answer 1

Cuando quieres hablar del tiempo en español usarás el verbo "hacer" para la mayoría de expresiónes. Por ejemplo, it is cold = hace frío; it is sunny = hace sol; it is hot = hace calor. En estos casos, no se usa el verbo "estar". Pero es posible decir "está lloviendo" para decir "it is raining", aunque es más fácil decir "llueve" que signífica el mismo. Otro ejemplo muy similar es "está nevando" para decir "it is snowing", que se puede decir en una palabra "nieva". Otras expresiones que usa otros verbos para describir el tiempo incluyen "hay viento" = "it is windy" (lit. there is wind, o se puede usar "hace viento" también); "hay nubes" = "it is cloudy" (there are clouds).

¡Espero que esto te ayuda hablar con éxito del tiempo!

When you want to talk about the weather in spanish you will use the verb "hacer" for the majority of expressions. For example, it is cold = hace frío; it is sunny = hace sol; it is hot = hace calor. En these cases, one doesn't use the verb "estar". But it is possible to say "está lloviendo" in order to say "it is raining", although it is easier to say "llueve", which means the same thing. Another very similar example is "está nevando" in order to say "it is snowing", which one can say in a single word "nieva". Other expressions that use other verbs for describing the weather include "hay viento" = "it is windy" (lit. there is wind, or one could use "hace viento" as well); "hay nubes" = "it is cloudy" (there are clouds).

I hope that this helps you to talk successfully about the weather!

So "Hacer" is used to describe temperatures of weather (or permanent states such as sunshine cause the Sun's a long lasting star. And "esta/hay" are used to describe different types of weather? - tranceslyvania, Apr 18, 2013

Gracias por la información. This is indeed a brain teaser but you've got me one step ahead. - tranceslyvania, Apr 18, 2013

I don't think there is a direct translation for the use of hacer in describing the weather in spanish. It's possible that it's literal translation is "it (the weather) is doing sun/cold/warmth", but obviously this sounds absurd in English! - yo_la_tengo, Apr 18, 2013

Answer 2

Great answer by Yo la tengo, I just wanted to add that when the action is taking place at the time of description it's better to use the progressive tenses:

Está lloviendo Está nevando Está soplando el viento muy fuerte

You may also say Hace mucho viento (It's very windy)

Hay nubes is not grammatically incorrect but does not provide an accurate depiction of the weather. I'd rather say: Está nublado.

I hope this helps!

Gracias por la información, Franco! - tranceslyvania, Apr 18, 2013

Thanks francobollo, I read "hay nubes" on a spanish blog one time and thought that it was the best option to use. Now I know better! - yo_la_tengo, Apr 18, 2013

Who you calling nube? - afowen, Apr 19, 2013

Answer 3

En Colombia no hay tiempo, solo clima...