Surviving the Weather!
Last class you learned to say what is happening now. This class you learn to say what is not happening, and to ask. Same two parts — you only move the am, is or are.
Warm-up
Short answers. Tap a card when you have answered it.
The weather is the safest small talk in English. Everybody has an opinion, nobody gets offended, and it lasts about ninety seconds. In Britain it is almost a national sport.
Useful language
The survival kit
These are the eight things the video says you need. Click a word, then click its meaning.
What's the weather like?
Click a word in the bank, then click a gap. Every answer starts with It's…
The question is fixed: What's the weather like? Not How is the weather like? and not What's the weather? Learn the whole question as one piece.
The sky is blue and I need my sunglasses. It's
_____.
Water is falling from the sky, so take your umbrella. It's
_____ today.
I can't see the sun, but no water is falling. It's
_____.
My hat is on the other side of the street now. It's very
_____.
Everything outside is white and the cars can't move. It's
_____.
It's 38 degrees and I'm drinking water every ten minutes. It's
_____.
It's 24 degrees, perfect, and I don't need a jacket. It's
_____.
It's 4 degrees and I want my gloves. It's
_____.
Surviving four seasons in one day
Watch the video first — it is thirty seconds long. Then read. The comprehension questions have the minute written on them.
Britain is famous for one thing more than any other: you cannot guess the weather. Sunshine, rain and wind can all arrive on the same day.
The video asks a simple question. How do you survive four seasons in a country like this? The answer is two words: be prepared.
Be prepared means clothes. You need an umbrella and a light rain jacket. You need a thick winter coat, a scarf, a hat and a pair of gloves.
You also need thick socks and boots. That is the whole list, and it fits in one closet.
The video ends with an old saying from the north of Europe: there is no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothing.
The four seasons are winter, spring, summer and fall. In the United States people say fall; in Britain they usually say autumn.
To talk about today, ask: what's the weather like? The answer is short. It's sunny, rainy, cloudy, windy or snowy. Or simply: it's hot, warm or cold.
Multiple choice
Click an answer and you get the result right away, with the reason. The blue number is where to look in the video.
-
0:02The only thing you can be sure of with British weather is:
A joke in the first line, and the whole point of the video.
-
0:06Which three does the video name?
"From sunshine to rain to wind."
-
0:09How fast can all of that happen?
"Sometimes all in one day."
-
0:12How do you survive the four seasons?
Two words, and then the video lists what "prepared" means.
-
0:15Which of these does the video NOT name?
Eight things on the list, and sunglasses are not one of them.
-
0:21What kind of socks do you need?
The same word as the winter coat: thick.
-
0:25"There's no such thing as bad weather, just the wrong ______."
The last line of the video, and the reason for the whole list.
-
Where does that saying come from?
Cold countries invented it, which makes sense.
-
Americans say fall. What do British people usually say?
Both words are correct English. We use fall in this course.
-
How many seasons are there?
Winter, spring, summer, fall.
-
Which question is the correct one?
What and like travel together. Learn it as one piece.
-
You can see the sun and no clouds. You say:
And the answer always starts with It's, never with Is.
Saying what is not happening
Nothing new to learn. The not goes after am, is or are, exactly where it goes with the verb to be alone. The -ing never moves and never changes.
- I'm not writing in the book.
- You aren't playing very well. · We aren't watching TV. · They aren't having lunch.
- He isn't working today. · She isn't wearing a jacket. · It isn't raining.
- Careful with I: we say I'm not. There is no amn't in English.
- Two ways, both correct: She isn't working = She's not working.
-
Which sentence is correct?
The not comes after is, and do never appears.
-
Complete: "I ______ wearing jeans today."
Amn't does not exist. I'm not is the only form.
-
Complete: "They ______ having lunch now."
They, we and you all take aren't.
-
"She's not working" and "She isn't working" are:
Two places to put the short form. Use whichever comes out faster.
-
Which sentence is WRONG?
Doesn't belongs to the present simple, and it never meets -ing.
-
It is a formal party and you have a suit on. You say:
Tonight, this party — so it is the continuous, not the general rule.
-
You look outside and the street is dry. You say:
All three are real English, but only the first is about this minute.
-
Complete: "John and I ______ staying at home today."
John and I is the same as we. Two people, so are.
Asking what is happening
- You are playing. → Are you playing with friends?
- He is working. → Is he working from home?
- It is raining. → Is it raining?
- They are having dinner. → Are they having dinner?
- Short answers repeat the same word: Yes, she is. / No, they aren't. Never Yes, she's.
-
Which question is correct?
Are jumps to the front. Do stays out of it.
-
Complete: "______ your parents working now?"
Two parents, so are.
-
Complete: "______ your sister working in the new store?"
One sister, so is.
-
"Is she going to the gym?" Choose the correct answer.
We never end a short answer with a contraction. It has nothing to lean on.
-
"Are they wearing school uniforms?" They have pajamas on. You say:
The answer copies the tense of the question, and then adds the true fact.
-
Which one asks about right now?
The first asks about your job in general.
-
Complete: "______ I doing the right exercise?"
I keeps am even in a question.
-
You want to know about the weather outside. You ask:
The first one asks about the climate of the whole city.
Affirmative, negative, question
The sign tells you the form: + yes, - no, ? question. Use short forms. Example: (-) He / work today. → He isn't working today.
Do it in two steps. First build the affirmative in your head, then add the not or move the is to the front. Trying to do both at once is where the mistakes come from.
-
+She / wear sunglasses (because it's sunny)
-
-My brother / play soccer today
-
?Your parents / work now
-
-I / wear jeans (it's a formal party)
-
-John and I / stay at home today
-
?Your sister / work in the new store
-
+The children / eat popcorn
-
-It / rain (let's go out now)
-
?They / live in France now
-
-They / paint the house today
Write the question
Example: They / wear / school uniforms? → Are they wearing school uniforms? In class we then answer each one out loud.
-
aShe / wear a dress?
-
bThey / walk in the park?
-
cIt / snow today?
-
dHe / do homework?
-
eHe / lift weights?
-
fShe / cook today?
What is happening right now?
Full sentences. Where you don't know, guess — I think he's… is a perfect answer.
Useful language
A rainy day where I live
60–100 words. It is raining in your city right now. Describe what people are doing and what they are wearing, and then three things that are not happening. Finish with one question for me.
My results
Check your score, then copy it and send it to your teacher on WhatsApp.
Send me one message a day this week. Two lines: what the weather is like, and one thing that is happening near you. It's cloudy. My neighbor is washing his car. That is enough.