Il fait froid dans la maison.

the house

Breakdown of Il fait froid dans la maison.

• dans: in
• froid: cold

Questions & Answers about Il fait froid dans la maison.

Why do we say "Il fait froid" instead of "C’est froid"?

In French, il fait is an impersonal expression used to describe weather conditions or a general state (such as temperature). Saying C’est froid would imply something specific is cold to the touch, rather than describing the overall temperature around you. Il fait froid conveys it is cold (out/around here).

Why do we use "froid" (masculine) rather than "froide" (feminine)?

In Il fait froid, the word froid is functioning more like a noun describing the coldness as a concept, not modifying a gendered noun. Since it’s an impersonal expression, we don’t need to match any gender here, so we keep it in the masculine default form.

Why is "dans la maison" used with the article "la"?

In French, you typically use the definite article la when referring to a specific place—in this case, the house. Since we’re talking about the inside of that particular house, you say dans la maison rather than just dans maison.

Could we say "à la maison" instead of "dans la maison"?

À la maison means at home, which is also common in French when you mean inside your own home. But dans la maison emphasizes within the physical boundaries of the house. Both can be correct depending on your intended nuance.

Do I need to use a pronoun for "it" in French?

In French, the impersonal il in Il fait froid already serves as the subject for weather or temperature expressions. There isn’t a separate word for "it" in this context—il is just the standard placeholder pronoun for such impersonal statements.