Questions & Answers about Avui fa sol i no fa fred.
What does fa mean in this sentence?
Here fa is the 3rd person singular of fer, which usually means to do or to make.
But in weather expressions, Catalan very often uses fer in a special idiomatic way:
- fa sol = it’s sunny
- fa fred = it’s cold
- fa calor = it’s hot
- fa vent = it’s windy
So in this sentence, fa does not mean does in the usual sense. It is just the normal verb Catalan uses in many weather expressions.
Why is the same verb used in both fa sol and fa fred?
Because Catalan commonly describes weather with fer.
This pattern is very productive, so learners quickly see it again and again:
- fa bon temps = the weather is nice
- fa mal temps = the weather is bad
- fa fresca = it’s cool
- fa xafogor = it’s muggy
So fa sol and fa fred are both standard weather phrases. English uses different structures such as it’s sunny and it’s cold, but Catalan often uses the same verb for both.
Why is there no subject like it?
Because Catalan does not need a dummy subject the way English does.