Virtuous English AcademyWeather & Nature — A1 English Vocabulary
This A1 vocabulary list gathers 20 beginner English words about weather & nature — sun, rain, snow and the natural world. Every word comes with a simple definition, its British-English pronunciation and a natural example sentence, so you learn each one in real context. When you are ready, open the flashcards to practise and remember them for good.
- #A1
- #Travel
- #Flashcards
- #Definitions
- #Examples
- #Pronunciation
Using weather & nature words in English
Weather is the safest small talk in English and one of the first topics you will be able to hold a real exchange about. It also introduces a piece of grammar that exists in English mainly for this purpose: the empty it. When you say It is raining, the it refers to nothing at all — English simply refuses to have a sentence without a subject, so it supplies one.
What to watch out for
Weather sentences need an empty it
It is raining. It is cold today. It was sunny yesterday. The it stands for nothing and cannot be left out — Is raining is not a sentence in English, however natural that feels if your language allows subjectless verbs.
Rain and snow are both nouns and verbs
The rain is heavy uses the noun; It is raining uses the verb. Both are correct and they are not interchangeable: It is rain is wrong. Wind, storm and ice are nouns only, so those need It is windy, There is a storm.
Ask with What is the weather like?
This is a fixed question and the like at the end has nothing to do with enjoying things — it means similar to what. The answer is an adjective: It is cold and wet. A common mistake is How is the weather like?, which mixes two correct questions into one wrong one.
Words learners mix up
Two tables. The first is about two everyday adjectives that turn into nouns and change meaning when they do. The second is about counting things outdoors, where English draws the line in an odd place.
Hot, cold and the things they become
| Word | What it actually means | In a sentence |
|---|---|---|
| hot | High in temperature — and in food it also means full of chilli, which is a separate question. | It is very hot today. |
| cold | Low in temperature as an adjective. As a noun with a it is the illness that blocks your nose. | I have a cold. |
| ice | Frozen water, and uncountable: some ice, never an ice. The road can be icy. | There is ice on the road. |
I am cold and I have a cold are two completely different sentences, and the little a is the only thing separating them. The first says you want a coat; the second says you are ill. In a restaurant, asking Is it hot? may need a follow-up, because the answer might be about temperature or about chilli.
One, many, or too many to count
| Word | What it actually means | In a sentence |
|---|---|---|
| leaf | One flat green part of a plant. The plural changes the f to a v: leaves. | The leaves fall in autumn. |
| tree | Ordinary and countable: one tree, two trees. No surprises at all. | There is a big tree in the garden. |
| grass | Uncountable. Say some grass or the grass, and never put a number in front of it. | Do not walk on the grass. |
Grass is the one to watch, because it is thousands of separate green things and English still refuses to count it — in the same way as rice and sand. The verb stays singular too: the grass is wet. If you really need a count, English switches to blades of grass, which nobody says outside poetry.
Collocations that sound natural
Four words with their usual partners. Weather phrases are unusually fixed, so the wrong adjective is noticed straight away.
rain
heavy rainin the rainthe rain stoppedit looks like rain
Rain is heavy or light, never big or strong. Being outside in it is in the rain, and the fixed complaint is I got wet.
sun
the sun is shiningin the sunthe sun comes upa sunny day
It always takes the — there is only one of them. Sitting in the sun means in the light, and in the shade is the opposite.
fire
make a fireput out a firecatch firea fire is burning
You put out a fire; you do not close it or kill it. Catch fire means to start burning, and it takes no article at all.
tree
climb a treeplant a treeunder a treean apple tree
You shelter under a tree rather than below or in it. Naming the fruit in front turns it into one word pair: an apple tree, a lemon tree.
Where each word belongs
Five words with a note. One of them is the thing British people say to strangers when they have nothing to say, and two of them always take the.
- weatherBritish small talkThe safest opening line with a stranger in Britain: Lovely day, isn’t it? or Terrible weather again. No real answer is expected — it is a way of being friendly.
- stormStronger than it looksWind and rain together, hard enough to cause damage. A wet, grey afternoon is not a storm, and calling it one sounds dramatic.
- moonAlways <em>the</em>There is only one, so it takes the every time: look at the moon. The same is true of the sun and the sky.
- riverNames take <em>the</em>River names keep the article: the Thames, the Nile. In careful British writing the word comes first — the River Thames.
- seaBritish · seasideBritain says the sea where America usually says the ocean. A British holiday by the water is at the seaside, which is a warm, slightly old-fashioned word.
Sentences to try
Four frames for talking about the weather and what is outside.
- It is hot today and the sun is shining.
- What is the weather like? — It is cold and it is raining.
- There are a lot of trees near the river.
- I can see the moon in the sky.
Questions about weather & nature vocabulary
Why do I say "it is raining" — what does "it" mean?
Nothing at all. English does not allow a sentence without a subject, so when there is no real one — for weather, times and distances — it supplies an empty it to fill the slot: It is raining, It is six o’clock, It is ten kilometres to the city. Languages such as Spanish, Italian, Polish and Turkish let the verb stand alone, which is why Is raining feels correct to so many learners and is nevertheless wrong.
How do I ask about the weather?
The standard question is What is the weather like? — like here means similar to what and has nothing to do with liking. Answer with an adjective: It is sunny, It is cold and windy. Avoid How is the weather like?, which blends two separate correct questions; How is the weather? on its own is fine.
Is rain a noun or a verb?
Both, and the two forms behave differently. As a verb: It is raining now, It rained all night. As a noun: The rain is heavy, I like the sound of rain. What you cannot do is mix them — It is rain is wrong. Snow works exactly the same way, while wind, storm and fog are nouns only and need It is windy or There is a storm.