Weather without a subject
Russian often describes weather impersonally — 'It's cold' is just Холодно, no 'it'. The neuter form of an adjective serves as an adverb-like predicate. Seasons take their own preposition pattern.
Impersonal weather (тепло, холодно)
Use the neuter short adjective alone: - Холодно. = It's cold. - Тепло. = It's warm. - Жарко. = It's hot. - Прохладно. = It's cool. Add the dative for personal feeling: - Мне холодно. = I'm cold (lit. 'to-me cold'). - Анне жарко. = Anna's hot.
Weather verbs
Some weather phenomena use verbs: - Идёт дождь. = It's raining (lit. 'rain is going'). - Идёт снег. = It's snowing. - Светит солнце. = The sun is shining. - Дует ветер. = The wind is blowing. Russian uses the unidirectional motion verb идти metaphorically for falling precipitation.
Seasons: nominative + 'в'/'летом'
Seasons: - весна (spring), лето (summer), осень (autumn), зима (winter). To say 'in [season]' use the instrumental form (one of those magical Russian shortcuts where the case ending alone does the work — no preposition): - весной = in spring - летом = in summer - осенью = in autumn - зимой = in winter
Talking about climate
- В России зимой холодно. = In Russia it's cold in winter. - Летом часто идёт дождь. = It often rains in summer. - Сегодня хорошая погода. = The weather is nice today. - Какая погода? = How's the weather? (lit. 'what kind of weather?')
