German Weather and Seasons Vocabulary
Es regnet ('it's raining') can never lose its es. German weather verbs are impersonal - they take only the placeholder subject es, and unlike English 'it,' this es is grammatically required, not optional filler.
weather
sun
rain
snow
wind
cloud
sky
thunderstorm
fog
temperature
hot
cold
warm
windy
sunny
spring
summer
autumn / fall
winter
season
Why Weather Needs a Subject That Means Nothing
Rain, snow, and thunder don't have an actual doer - nothing is 'doing' the raining the way a person does an action. German still requires each verb to have a grammatical subject, so es fills that slot as a placeholder with no real meaning of its own.
Es Moves, But It Never Disappears
Heute regnet es den ganzen Tag (Today it's raining all day) moves es after the verb instead of dropping it. Whatever else shifts around in the sentence, es always stays present somewhere - German weather verbs have no version without it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does es regnet need the word es?+
Es regnet is an impersonal verb - it requires the placeholder subject es and has no grammatically correct version without it, even though es doesn't refer to anything real.
Can I drop es if something else starts the sentence?+
No - es just moves position instead of disappearing. Heute regnet es keeps es after the verb rather than removing it.
What are other examples of impersonal weather verbs?+
Es schneit (it's snowing), es hagelt (it's hailing), and es friert (it's freezing) all follow the same rule - only es as the subject, never a noun or another pronoun.
How do I practice this weather and seasons vocabulary?+
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