The Weather in English

IDIOMS: It’s raining cats and dogs.

1. VOCABULARY – Review old words or learn new ones, if any:

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Review them once again here…:

Learn more words:

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Weather forecast

Now watch this video carefully. It talks about: 1) the elements of weather (air temperature, air pressure, humidity, precipitation – rain,

snow, hail -, clouds and fog, wind); 2) climate;3) climate zones.

http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/science/weather-and-climate/weather-and-climate.htm

Then watch these slide shows about seasons: http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/science/weather-and-climate/seasons.htm And about clouds and precipitations: http://studyjams.scholastic.com/studyjams/jams/science/weather-and-climate/seasons.htm

RememberWEATHER WHETHER is used in this way:

= snow, sunshine, rain, tornado Your correct use of the words weather and whether will determine whether or not you pass the next test…

2. The WEATHER – GRAMMARhttp://www.vocabulary.cl/english/weather.htm

It is + adjective OR It is + verb-ing

It’s rainy. It’s raining.

You provide a description of the weather. You specify the type of weather happening now.

It is + adjective

It is sunny today.                      It’s hot and humid today.           It’sa nice day today.

We can also say:

It is a + adjective + day (or

It is + verb-ing

It’s snowing. Take an umbrella, it’s raining. It’s drizzling outside.

+ other tenses

It was cold yesterday. (past simple)

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morning/afternoon/night)

It’s a fine day. It’s a windy afternoon.

It will be cloudy tomorrow. (future simple)

WORD FORMATION

When you are learning vocabulary about the weather, it is important to remember that some of the words have a noun form, a verb form and/or an adjective form. For example:

Rain: (noun) The game was cancelled because of the rain. to Rain: (verb) I think it is going to rain later. Rainy: (adjective) It’s a rainy day.

It pays to learn the different forms of each word and when they are used.

Nouns and Adjectives Many times if you add the letter Y to the end of a noun it becomes an adjective.

rain (noun) - rainy (adjective) sun (noun) – sun+ny (adjective) wind (noun) - windy (adjective) cloud (noun) - cloudy (adjective) fog (noun) – fog+gy (adjective)

Questions about the weather

HOW DO PEOPLE ASK ABOUT THE WEATHER?

By saying:

What’s it like out(side)? How’s the weather?

What’s the weather like? What’s the temperature?

What’s the weather forecast?

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MORE IN-DEPTH: Vocabulary about the weather in English

http://www.vocabulary.cl/english/weather.htm

To make it easier, this vocabulary can be divided into different categories: Clear or Cloudy

Types of Rain Cold stuff

Types of Wind

Clear or Cloudy Bright: (adjective) full of light; when the sun is shining stronglySunny: (adjective) the sun is shining and there are no cloudsClear: (adjective) without cloudsFine: (adjective) not raining, clear skyPartially cloudy: (adjective) when there is a mixture of both blue sky and clouds Cloudy: (adjective) with many clouds in the skyOvercast: (adjective) covered with cloud; dullGloomy: (adjective) with dark clouds and dull light; some people consider this weather depressing

Sometimes the cloud lowers to ground level and it becomes harder to see…Fog (noun)/ foggy (adjective): thick cloud close to landMist (noun) / misty (adjective): light fog, often on the sea or caused by drizzleHaze (noun) / hazy (adjective): light mist, usually caused by heat

Types of Rain Damp: (adjective) slightly wet (often after the rain has stopped)Drizzle: (verb/noun) to rain lightly with very fine dropsShower: (noun) a short period of rainRain: (verb/noun) water that falls from the clouds in dropsDownpour: (noun) heavy rainPour: (verb) to have heavy rainIt’s raining cats and dogs: (Idiom) To rain heavilyTorrential rain: (noun) very heavy rainFlood: (verb/noun) to become covered in water usually due to excessive rain

Cold stuff Hail: (verb) when frozen rain falls as small balls of ice (hailstones).Hailstones: (noun) the small hard balls of ice that fall from the skySnow: (noun/verb) frozen rain that falls from the sky as soft snowflakesSnowflake: (noun) an individual piece of snowSleet: (noun/verb) snow or hail mixed with rain (often with some wind)Blizzard: (noun) severe snowstorm with strong winds

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Types of Wind Breeze: a gentle wind (often nice or refreshing)Blustery: blowing (strong) gusts of windWindy: continual wind.Gale: a very strong windHurricane/cyclone/typhoon: a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce winds and heavy rain.

What’s the difference between a hurricane, a typhoon and a cyclone?They are the same thing just with different names because of the region they are in.Atlantic/Northeast Pacific = a hurricaneNorthwest Pacific = a typhoonSouthern Hemisphere = a cyclone

Tornado: (noun) strong violent circular winds in a small area; a rapidly revolving column of airIn United States the word twister is often used instead of tornado.

Digression (or expansion?): learn English from Russian and viceversa…

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IDIOMS

Choose your favourite five idioms and use them!

http://www.usingenglish.com/reference/idioms/cat/4.html

and

http://www.learn-english-today.com/idioms/idiom-categories/weather/weather1-blue-rain.html

Any port in a stor m

This means that in an emergency any solution will do, even one that would normally be unacceptable.

Billy Wind

(UK) If the wind is so strong it is howling, one might say, "Wow- can you hear Billy Wind out there?" like Jack Frost.

Blue skies

A overly enthusiastic outlook or disposition. The sales team had blue skies projections for their deals, although not many of those deals were signed.

Bolt from the blue

If something happens unexpectedly and suddenly, it is a bolt from the blue.

Brighten up the day

If something brightens up your day, something happens that makes you feel positive and happy all day long.

Calm before the storm

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A calm time immediately before period of violent activity or argument is the calm before the storm.

Chase rainbows

If someone chases rainbows, they try to do something that they will never achieve.

Cloud nine

If you are on cloud nine, you are extremely happy. ('cloud seven' is a less common alternative)

Cloud of suspicion

If a cloud of suspicion hangs over an individual, it means that they are not believed or are distrusted.

Cloud on the horizon

If you can see a problem ahead, you can call it a cloud on the horizon.

Cold light of day

If you see things in the cold light of day, you see them as they really are, not as you might want them to be.

Colder than a witch's tit

If it is colder than a witch's tit, it is extremely cold outside.

Come rain or shine

If I say I'll be at a place come rain or shine, I mean that I can be relied on to turn up; nothing, not even the vagaries of British weather, will deter me or stop me from being there.

Doldrums8/14

If a person is in the doldrums, they are depressed. If a project or something similar is in the doldrums, it isn't making any progress.

Down in the doldrums

If somebody's down in the doldrums, they are depressed and lacking energy.

Dry spell

If something or someone is having a dry spell, they aren't being as successful as they normally are.

Every cloud has a silver lining

People sometimes say that every cloud has a silver lining to comfort somebody who's having problems. They mean that it is always possible to get something positive out of a situation, no matter how unpleasant, difficult or even painful it might seem.

Face like thunder

If someone has a face like thunder, they are clearly very angry or upset about something.

Fairweather friend

A fairweather friend is the type who is always there when times are good but forgets about you when things get difficult or problems crop up.

Get wind of

If you get wind of something, you hear or learn about it, especially if it was meant to be secret.

Go down a storm

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To say that something has been enjoyable or successful, you can say that it has gone down a storm. Eg. Last night's party went down a storm, it was incredible.

Greased lightning

If something or someone moves like greased lightning, they move very fast indeed.

Head is in the clouds

If a person has their head in the clouds, they have unrealistic, impractical ideas.

Hit rough weather

If you hit rough weather, you experience difficulties or problems.

In a fog

If you're in a fog, you are confused, dazed or unaware.

Into each life some rain must fall

This means that bad or unfortunate things will happen to everyone at some time.

It never rains but it pours

'It never rains but it pours' means that when things go wrong, they go very wrong.

Jack Frost

If everything has frozen in winter, then Jack Frost has visited.

Know which way the wind blows

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This means that you should know how things are developing and be prepared for the future.

Lightning fast

Something that is lightning fast is very fast indeed.

Made in the shade

One has an easy time in life or in a given situation. Finding things working to one's benefit.

Not know enough to come in out of the rain

Someone who doesn't know enough to come in out of the rain is particularly stupid.

Quiet before the Storm

When you know that something is about to go horribly wrong, but hasn't just yet, then you are in the quiet before the storm.

Rain on your parade

If someone rains on your parade, they ruin your pleasure or your plans.

Rainy day

If you save something, especially money, for a rainy day, you save it for some possible problem or trouble in the future.

Right as rain

If things are right as rain, then everything is going well in your life.

Sail close to the wind

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If you sail close to the wind, you take risks to do something, going close to the limit of what is allowed or acceptable.

Seven sheets to the wind

If someone is seven sheets to the wind, they are very drunk.

Shoot the breeze

When you shoot the breeze, you chat in a relaxed way.

Silly season

The silly season is midsummer when Parliament is closed and nothing much is happening that is newsworthy, which reduces the press to reporting trivial and stupid stories.

Steal someone's thunder

If someone steals your thunder, they take the credit and praise for something you did.

Stem the tide

If people try to stem the tide, they are trying to stop something unpleasant from getting worse, usually when they don't succeed.

Storm in a teacup

If someone exaggerates a problem or makes a small problem seem far greater than it really is, then they are making a storm in a teacup.

Take a raincheck

If you take a rain check, you decline an offer now, suggesting you will accept it later. ('Raincheck' is also used.)

Take by storm12/14

To take by storm means to captivate- eg. A new play that took New York City by storm.

Tempest in a teapot

If people exaggerate the seriousness of a situation or problem, they are making a tempest in a teapot.

Throw caution to the wind

When people throw caution to the wind, they take a great risk.

Twilight zone

The twilight zone is an ambiguous area between two different states, ways of life, conditions, etc.

Twisting in the wind

If you are twisting in the wind, you are without help or support - you are on your own.

Under a cloud

If someone is suspected of having done something wrong, they are under a cloud.

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The weather and pronunciation, JOKES AND HOMOPHONES

source: http://www.jokes4us.com/miscellaneousjokes/weatherjokes/rainjokes.html

Q: What is a queen’s favorite kind of precipitation?

A: Reign! change colour here (from white to black)

Q: What do you call it when it rains chickens and ducks?

A: Foul (fowl) weather. change colour here (from white to black)

Q: What's the difference between a horse and the weather?

A: One is reined up and the other rains down. change

colour here (from white to black)

The weather in England

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