Breakdown of Il fait froid dehors, mais bon dedans.
Questions & Answers about Il fait froid dehors, mais bon dedans.
Why does this sentence use dehors and dedans instead of prepositions with de (like the ones in this lesson)?
Words like près de (near) or à l'intérieur de (inside of) are complex prepositions that need an object to follow them, like 'inside the house'. Because this sentence doesn't name a specific object, we use the standalone adverbs dehors (outside) and dedans (inside) without de. Why is it il fait froid instead of il est froid?
In French, we use the verb faire (to do/make) to describe the weather and general temperature. Il fait froid is the set phrase for 'It is cold'. If you used il est froid, it would mean a specific physical object (like a bowl of soup) is cold. Why does bon translate to 'nice' here instead of 'good'?
When talking about the weather or the temperature of a room, il fait bon is the standard French expression to say 'it is nice out' or 'the temperature is comfortable'. Is there a missing verb in the second half of the sentence (mais bon dedans)?
The verb is implied! Just like in English ('It is cold outside, but nice inside'), French can drop the repeated verb to avoid sounding repetitive. The complete thought is mais il fait bon dedans, but leaving out the second il fait makes the sentence flow much better. Learn Il fait froid dehors, mais bon dedans and more in French
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free