“Temps” (period, hour, season) and “temps” (weather), one word for two notions which does not fail to confuse students learning French. To differentiate them, its two notions are used with different constructions.
Temps (time)
Temps (time) is used in general with the verb “être”.
For example for the date:
Nous sommes le lundi 18 décembre. Today is Monday, December 18.
For the seasons:
Nous sommes en été. We are in summer
For the days:
Nous sommes lundi. It is Monday
Nous sommes le lundi 12 juin. Today is Monday, June 12.
The months:
Nous sommes en septembre. We are in September
Years:
Nous sommes en 2084.
L’heure:
Il est 5 heures du matin.
The weather:
To talk about the weather we use different constructions depending on whether it is an adjective, a noun or a verb.
For an adjective: We use “il fait” + adjectif
Example:
Il fait chaud. It’s hot
For a noun: We use “il y a” + noun
Example:
Il y a des nuages. There are clouds.
For a verb: We use “il” + verb
Example:
Il pleut. It’s raining.
*If someone asks you: What’s the weather like? (use to do, he talks about the weather)
*If someone asks you: How long did you stay at the cinema? (use of the verb to be, it speaks of the time “period”)
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