Question 1

Why do we use en before août?

Accepted Answer

In French, when you want to say that something happens in a specific month, you always use the preposition en. So, "in August" translates to en août.

Question 2

I thought "it is hot" for weather was il fait chaud. Why does this sentence use est chaude?

Accepted Answer

You are right that for general weather, French uses il fait (literally "it makes"), like in il fait très chaud (it is very hot). However, here we are directly describing a specific thing: la ville (the city). When describing a specific noun as having a physical temperature, like a city, a room, or food, you use the verb être (to be) and the adjective chaud or chaude.

Question 3

Why is there an "e" at the end of chaude?

Accepted Answer

In French, adjectives (describing words) have to match the noun they are attached to. Because la ville is a feminine noun, the adjective describing it must also be feminine. We add an "e" to the masculine word chaud to make it feminine, becoming chaude.

Question 4

How do you pronounce août? Are there silent letters?

Accepted Answer

It looks intimidating, but it is actually very short! The a and o are silent, so it is usually pronounced like "oot" (rhyming with the English word "boot"). Some French speakers drop the "t" and just say "oo", which is also correct. Also, because en ends in a consonant and août starts with a vowel sound, they link together smoothly in a "liaison", sounding a bit like "ahn-noot".

En août, la ville est très chaude.

Breakdown of En août, la ville est très chaude.

Questions & Answers about En août, la ville est très chaude.

Learn En août, la ville est très chaude and more in French