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Il fait beau à Rome.

Il fait beau à Rome.
The weather is nice in Rome.
From Lesson 38:The verb to do/make (faire)·French

Questions & Answers about Il fait beau à Rome.

Why does the sentence use fait (makes/does) instead of the verb 'to be'?
In English, we say 'The weather is' or 'It is', but French uses the verb faire (to do/make) to describe the weather. So, Il fait beau literally translates to 'It makes beautiful,' but it is the standard way to say 'The weather is nice.'
Does Il mean 'he' or 'it' in this sentence?
Here, Il means 'it.' While il usually means 'he,' French uses it as a neutral 'it' for impersonal things like weather and time, exactly like how we say 'It is nice' in English.
Why is it à Rome instead of en Rome or dans Rome to say 'in Rome'?
In French, you always use the preposition à (which can mean at, in, or to) right before the name of a city.
I learned that beau means 'beautiful' or 'handsome.' Why does it mean 'nice' here?
When used with weather expressions using faire, the word beau translates better to 'nice' or 'fine.' The French are literally saying the weather is beautiful!

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