BDD 3 Months, seasons and basic weather (A1)

Welcome to this Deep Dive. Today, I would like to look at months, seasons and weather. Do you remember what ‘month’ means? Well, there are twelve months in a year. Listen to this poem:

Thirty days has September,

April, June, and November,

All the rest have thirty-one,

Save February at twenty-eight,

But leap year, coming one in four,

February then has one day more.

This is a poem about the 12 months in the year. What does ‘poem’ mean? A poem is a little verse that rhymes. But what does ‘rhymes’ mean? To rhyme is a verb and it means ‘to sound the same’. So, this poem rhymes because some words sound the same. For example, ‘September’ and ‘November’ sound the same, so they rhyme. Also, ‘four’ and ‘more’ sound the same, so they rhyme.

This poem is good because it can help you to remember how many days there are in each month. Let’s look at each part of the poem:

‘Thirty days has September’. This means that September has 30 days.

‘April, June and November’. This means that April, June and November also have 30 days.

‘All the rest have thirty-one’. This means that January, March, May, July, August, October and December have 31 days.

‘Save February at twenty-eight’. This means that February normally has 28 days.

‘But leap year, coming one in four, February then has one more day.’ This means that every 4th (fourth) year is a leap year. In a leap year, February has one more day. That means that February has 29 days in a leap year. Remember that February is a strange month.

In a year, there are four seasons. The seasons are called ‘spring’, ‘summer’, ‘autumn’ and ‘winter’. How do you spell ‘season’? It’s spelt S-E-A-S-O-N. But what is a season? A season is a group of three months. There are twelve months in a year, and there are three months in each season.

Let’s look at the seasons now.

The 1st (first) season in the year is called ‘spring’. Spring is spelt S-P-R-I-N-G. In England, the spring months are March, April and May. Sometimes spring is quite cold and sometimes it is a little warm. In England, there is a lot of rain in spring.

The 2nd (second) season in the year is called ‘summer’. Summer is spelt S-U-M-M-E-R. In England, the summer months are June, July and August. Summer can be quite warm, but sometimes it is very hot. However, it sometimes rains in the summer months in England. When it rains a lot in summer, this is called an ‘English summer’. But what is an ‘English summer’? An English summer is a summer with a lot of rain and cold weather.

The 3rd (third) season in the year is called ‘autumn’. Autumn is spelt A-U-T-U-M-N. In England, the autumn months are September, October and November. Autumn is a little cold and windy. It also rains quite a lot in autumn.

The 4th (fourth) season in the year is called ‘winter’. Winter is spelt W-I-N-T-E-R. In England, the winter months are December, January and February. In winter, the weather is normally very cold. It also rains a lot and it is very windy. Sometimes it snows in England.

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Now we are going to look at the weather in English. How do you spell ‘weather’? It’s spelt W-E-A-T-H-E-R. What does ‘weather’ mean? Well, listen to these phrases to help you understand:

It’s cold. This means that the temperature is low. If the temperature is below 15° (degrees), the weather is a little cold. If the temperature is below 10° (degrees), the weather is quite cold. If the temperature is below 5° (degrees), the weather is very cold.

It’s warm. This means that the temperature is quite good for people. If the temperature is above 15° (degrees), the weather is a little warm. If the temperature is above 20° (degrees), the weather is quite warm. If the temperature is above 25° (degrees), the weather is very warm.

It’s hot. This means that the temperature is very high. If the temperature is above 25° (degrees), the weather is a little hot. If the temperature is above 27° (degrees), the weather is quite hot. If the temperature is above 30° (degrees), the weather is very hot.

It’s windy. This means that air is moving quickly outside. The moving air is called ‘wind’. In England, the wind is normally quite cold. If the wind is blowing at 15 km/h (kilometres per hour), the weather is a little windy. If the wind is blowing at 30 km/h (kilometres per hour), the weather is quite windy. If the wind is blowing at 50 km/h (kilometres per hour), the weather is very windy. What does ‘the wind is blowing’ mean? It means that the air is moving.

It rains. This means that drops or droplets of water fall from the sky and the weather is wet. In summer, it rains a little. In spring and autumn, it rains quite a lot. In winter, it rains a lot. What does ‘a lot’ mean? It means ‘very much’. If it rains, you can also say ‘it’s rainy’.

It snows. This means that white snowflakes fall from the sky. It can only snow if the temperature is below 0° (degrees), for example -1° (degrees) or colder. It only snows in winter because the weather must be very cold in order for it to snow. In the south of England, it snows a little. In the north of England, it snows quite a lot. In Scotland, it snows a lot. If it snows, you can also say ‘it’s snowy’.

Did you hear the words ‘a little’, ‘quite’ and ‘very’? These words are called adverbs of degree or intensifiers. How do you spell ‘intensifier’? It’s spelt I-N-T-E-N-S-I-F-I-E-R. It is quite a long word. But what does ‘intensifier’ mean? Well, an intensifier is a word that makes something more intense. But what does ‘more intense’ mean? Okay, ‘more intense’ means ‘stronger’, ‘greater’ or just ‘more’. ‘A little’ means ‘a small amount’ or ‘not much’. ‘Quite’ means ‘a medium amount’ or ‘a slightly larger amount’ or ‘some’. ‘Very’ means ‘a large amount’ or ‘very much’.

Listen to these weather phrases with intensifiers:

It’s a little cold, it’s quite cold, it’s very cold.

It’s a little warm, it’s quite warm, it’s very warm.

It’s a little hot, it’s quite hot, it’s very hot.

It’s a little windy, it’s quite windy, it’s very windy.

It’s a little rainy, it’s quite rainy, it’s very rainy.

It’s a little snowy, it’s quite snowy, it’s very snowy.

The words ‘cold’, ‘warm’, ‘hot’ and ‘windy’, ‘rainy’ and ‘snowy’ are called adjectives. These adjectives describe types of weather. The words ‘a little’, ‘quite’ and ‘very’ are called ‘adverbs of degree’ or ‘intensifiers’. In English, you can use an intensifier before an adjective.

Now, listen to these weather phrases with intensifiers:

It rains a little, it rains quite a lot, it rains a lot, it rains very much.

It snows a little, it snows quite a lot, it snows a lot, it snows very much.

The phrases ‘it rains’ and ‘it snows’ are verb phrases. The phrases ‘a little’, ‘quite a lot’, ‘a lot’ and ‘very much’ are called adverbial phrases of degree.

Now listen to these two descriptions. Description number 1 describes the weather generally in England. Description number 2 describes the weather now in England.

Description number 1: How is the weather generally in England? Well, in spring it is quite cold and it rains quite a lot in March. In April, it is a little warm but it is also a little rainy. In May, it is quite warm and it is a little sunny. In summer, it is sometimes quite hot. In June it is a little hot sometimes, but in July and August it is quite hot. It is rarely very hot in England. Sometimes it rains a lot in summer. Sometimes it is very rainy in summer. A rainy summer is called an ‘English summer’. In autumn, it is quite cold and quite windy. Sometimes it is also quite rainy. If it is very warm in autumn, this is called an ‘Indian summer’. In winter, it is very cold and very rainy. In other words, it rains a lot. Sometimes it is a little snowy. In other words, it snows a little.

This is the long form.

Description number 1: How’s the weather generally in England? Well, in spring it’s quite cold and it rains quite a lot in March. In April, it’s a little warm but it’s also a little rainy. In May, it’s quite warm and it’s a little sunny. In summer, it’s sometimes quite hot. In June, it’s a little hot sometimes, but in July and August it’s quite hot. It’s rarely very hot in England. Sometimes it rains a lot in summer. Sometimes it’s very rainy in summer. A rainy summer is called an ‘English summer’. In autumn, it’s quite cold and quite windy. Sometimes it’s also quite rainy. If it’s very warm in autumn, this is called an ‘Indian summer’. In winter, it’s very cold and very rainy. In other words, it rains a lot. Sometimes it’s a little snowy. In other words, it snows a little.

This is the short form.

Description number 2: How is the weather today in England? Well, in the south of England it is quite warm and sunny. In Torquay, it is a little windy. In Bristol, it is raining a little, but in London it is raining quite a lot. In Manchester it is very rainy and quite cold. In Scotland, it is snowing a little in Glasgow, but it is very snowy in the north of Scotland.

This is the long form.

Description number 2: How’s the weather today in England? Well, in the south of England it’s quite warm and sunny. In Torquay, it’s a little windy. In Bristol, it’s raining a little, but in London it’s raining quite a lot. In Manchester, it’s very rainy and quite cold. In Scotland, it’s snowing a little in Glasgow, but it’s very snowy in the north of Scotland.

Did you notice that when you talk about the weather now, you must not say ‘it rains’ or ‘it snows’. No! You must say ‘now it is raining’ or ‘now it is snowing’. These are the long forms. You can also say ‘now it’s raining’ or ‘now it’s snowing’. These are the short forms.

So, these are good and correct phrases:

Generally, it rains quite a lot in England so it’s quite rainy. Generally, it snows a little in Scotland, so it’s a little snowy.

Today, it’s raining quite a lot in England, so it’s quite rainy. Today, it’s snowing a little in Scotland, so it’s a little snowy.

What does ‘generally’ mean? Well, ‘generally’ means ‘in general’, ‘normally’ or ‘usually’.

Thank you for listening to this Deep Dive. I hope to see you again next time.