Questions & Answers about Es regnet nicht, es ist trocken.
Why do we use es at the beginning of both parts of this sentence?
In German, just like in English, we use a dummy subject for weather and general conditions. Since there isn't a specific person or thing doing the raining or being dry, we use the impersonal pronoun es (it).
The translation says "is not raining", but the German sentence doesn't have a word for "is" in the first half. Why?
German doesn't have a continuous tense like the "-ing" form in English. The single verb regnet means both "rains" and "is raining". So, es regnet nicht translates to both "it does not rain" and "it is not raining".
Why does nicht come after the verb regnet?
In basic German sentences, the main verb always takes the second position. To negate the action of the verb, nicht comes right after it. You cannot say es nicht regnet because that would push the verb out of its strict second-place spot.
Can I use this same es ist pattern for other weather words like trocken?
Yes! You use the pattern es ist followed by an adjective to describe many general conditions. For example, you can say es ist warm (it is warm), es ist kalt (it is cold), or es ist sonnig (it is sunny).
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