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Il fait beau, nous allons au parc.

Il fait beau, nous allons au parc.
The weather is nice, we are going to the park.
From Lesson 38:The verb to do/make (faire)·French

Questions & Answers about Il fait beau, nous allons au parc.

Why does the sentence use fait to talk about the weather?
In French, the verb faire (which normally means "to do" or "to make") is the standard verb used to describe the weather. While an English speaker says "it is nice," a French speaker literally says "it makes nice." You will see il fait used in many weather phrases, like il fait froid (it's cold) or il fait chaud (it's hot).
Does il mean "he" in this sentence?
No, in this case, il doesn't refer to a person. Just like we say "it is raining" in English without meaning a specific "it", French uses an impersonal il for the weather. It simply translates to "the weather is" or "it is".
Doesn't beau usually mean "beautiful" or "handsome"?
Yes, it does! When applied to people or objects, it means beautiful or handsome. But when used with the weather in the phrase il fait beau, it is the standard way to say "the weather is nice" or "it's beautiful out".
The translation says "we are going", but there is no word for "are" in nous allons. Why?
French doesn't have a separate "-ing" tense like English does. The single present tense verb allons covers both "we go" and "we are going". Adding a French word for "are" here would be a mistake!
Why is it au parc instead of à le parc?
In French, the preposition à (to/at) and the masculine word le (the) are never allowed to sit next to each other. They always merge to form the contraction au. Because park is masculine (le parc), "to the park" becomes au parc.

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