LESSON XIV
Expressions of weather. — Time of day. — Age. — Measurement. — Irregular verbs partir, sortir, pleuvoir, croître
52. Expressions of weather. — Faire is commonly used impersonally to describe conditions and states of weather. The following are the most common expressions of this kind :
faire beau (temps),1 to be fine faire magnifique, to be magnificent
faire bon, to be comfortable faire mauvais (temps), to be bad
faire chaud, to be warm faire noir, to be dark
faire clair, to be clear faire obscur, to be dark
faire frais, to be cool faire soir, to be evening
faire froid, to be cold faire clair de lune, to be moonlight
faire jour, to be day, dawn faire du brouillard, to be foggy 2
faire matin, to be morning faire de l'ombre, to be shady 2
faire nuit, to be night, dark faire du vent, to be windy 2 faire du soleil, to be sunny 2
Quel temps fait-il aujourd'hui? What kind of weather is it to-day?
II fera chaud demain. It will be warm to-morrow. Il fait soir maintenant. It is dark now.
Il a fait du vent hier. It was windy yesterday.
1 Remember that être is used in some cases, as for example : Le temps est beau, The weather is fine; Il est tard, It is late, etc.
2 Notice that these expressions come under the partitive construction :
Il ne faisait pas de vent. It was not windy.
Note. The reflexive se faire may be used in the same manner, but with a slight shade of difference in meaning.
Il se fait tard maintenant. It is getting late now.
Il se faisait mauvais. The weather was getting bad.
53. Time of day. — Time of day is usually expressed in French by être used impersonally.
Quelle heure est-il? What time is it?
Il est deux heures moins vingt (mi- It is twenty minutes of two.
nutes) .
Il est sept heures (et) dix (minutes). 77 is ten minutes past seven.
Il était midi ; il est minuit. It was noon; it is midnight.
Il est midi et demi. It is half past twelve (p. m.).
Il est trois heures et demie. It is half past three.
54. Age. — The French use avoir in expressing age, whereas we use to be in English.
Quel âge avez-vous ? How old are you?
J'ai vingt ans. / am twenty years old.
Elle a deux ans de plus que Jean. She is two years older than John,.
55. Measurement. — Avoir is generally used in expressing measurements.1
La cour a dix mètres de longueur. The yard is ten meters long.
Ma maison a douze mètres de hau- My house is twelve meters high.
teur.
La boîte a un mètre de largeur. The box is one meter wide.
Le trou a cinq mètres de profondeur. The hole is five meters deep.
Cette planche a un centimètre This board is one centimeter thick.
d'épaisseur.
56. Irregular verbs. — Study the irregular verbs partir, to leave, depart; sortir, to go out; pleuvoir, to rain; croître, to grow.
1 In France, measurements are usually indicated in terms of the metric system. The meter is the linear standard and is about 39.37 inches in length. The centimeter is the one hundredth part of the meter, or about .4 of an inch.
EXERCISE
(a) i. The weather was so fine this afternoon that we took a boat ride.1 2. If it had not rained so much, I should have gone out too. 3. What time will it be when they arrive home?
