Learn Hardcore German: Dieses Wetter macht mich müde.

The word dieses is the nominative singular neuter form of the demonstrative determiner dies- (this). That’s why it has the ending -es.

Very short declension for dies- in the nominative singular:

dieser Mann (masc.) – this man
diese Frau (fem.) – this woman
dieses Wetter (neut.) – this weather

So you need dieses because it must agree with das Wetter in gender (neuter), number (singular) and case (nominative).

What case is Wetter in here, and what is its function in the sentence?

Wetter is in the nominative case. It is the subject of the sentence.

Dieses Wetter = subject (nominative)
macht = verb
mich = direct object (accusative)
müde = predicate adjective describing mich

So the structure is:
Subject (Nom.) + Verb + Object (Acc.) + Predicate

Why do we say mich müde and not mir müde?

Mich is accusative, mir is dative.

The verb machen in the sense of “to make someone (be/feel) something” takes a direct object in the accusative:

etwas macht jemanden müde / glücklich / traurig
– something makes someone tired / happy / sad

So:

Dieses Wetter macht mich müde. ✅
Dieses Wetter macht mir müde. ❌ (wrong, because mir is dative)

If you used a verb that takes the dative, then mir could be correct, but machen in this pattern does not.

Why is müde at the end of the sentence?

In main clauses, German normally puts the conjugated verb in second position (the V2 rule). Everything else tends to go after it.

Word order here:

Dieses Wetter – first element (subject phrase)
macht – conjugated verb (must be in “second position”)
mich müde – the rest of the information (middle field)

Within mich müde, the pronoun mich comes before the predicate adjective müde, and the whole predicate (mich müde) stays at the end:

Dieses Wetter | macht | mich müde.

You cannot move müde in front of macht without changing the sentence type (e.g. to a question):

Macht dieses Wetter mich müde? (question)

Why doesn’t müde have an ending like müden or müdes?

Here müde is a predicative adjective, linked to the object mich by the verb machen. Predicative adjectives in German do not decline; they keep their base form:

Ich bin müde.
Du bist müde.
Wir sind müde.
Dieses Wetter macht mich müde.

Adjectives only take endings when they are attributive, i.e. directly in front of a noun:

ein müder Mann (a tired man)
eine müde Frau (a tired woman)
ein müdes Kind (a tired child)

But in mich müde, müde stands alone as a description, not in front of a noun, so no extra ending.

Could I just say Dieses Wetter macht müde and leave out mich?

Yes, that is possible, and it is natural German.

Dieses Wetter macht mich müde.
– This weather makes me tired. (focus on me)
Dieses Wetter macht müde.
– This weather makes (people) tired. (general statement)

Without mich, the sentence becomes more general and impersonal, meaning “this kind of weather makes you/one/people tired” rather than stressing me specifically.

What is the difference between Dieses Wetter macht mich müde and Ich werde müde von diesem Wetter?

Both can express essentially the same idea, but the structure and nuance differ:

Dieses Wetter macht mich müde.
- Focus on the weather as the active cause.
- Structure: Causer (subject) + machen + object + predicate.
- Slightly more direct and common.
Ich werde müde von diesem Wetter.
- Focus on my state changing.
- Structure: Ich
  - werde
    - müde
      - von diesem Wetter (dative after von).
- Literally: “I become tired from this weather.”
- Emphasizes the process of me becoming tired rather than the weather doing something to me.

Both are correct and idiomatic.

Is Dieses Wetter macht mich müde basically the same as Dieses Wetter ermüdet mich?

They are very similar in meaning, but not in style and frequency.

Dieses Wetter macht mich müde.
- Very common, everyday German.
- Works with many adjectives:
  - macht mich nervös / glücklich / traurig / krank, etc.
Dieses Wetter ermüdet mich.
- More formal or literary.
- Verb ermüden specifically means “to tire, to fatigue”.
- Less frequent in casual spoken German.

So macht mich müde is the more natural choice in everyday conversation.

Can I say Dieses Wetter lässt mich müde?

No, not like that. Lassen usually needs a bare infinitive verb or a complement with werden in this kind of structure.

Correct options would be:

Dieses Wetter lässt mich müde werden.
– This weather makes me become tired.
Dieses Wetter lässt mich müde aussehen.
– This weather makes me look tired.

But:

Dieses Wetter lässt mich müde. ❌
– Incomplete; German expects either a verb or a structure like werden after lässt in this meaning.

For a simple, natural sentence, Dieses Wetter macht mich müde is better.

Could I say Dieses Wetter macht müde mich?

No, that word order is not natural.

Pronouns like mich, dich, ihn, sie usually come earlier in the “middle field” of the sentence, before longer complements or predicate adjectives.

Correct:

Dieses Wetter macht mich müde.

Incorrect / unnatural:

Dieses Wetter macht müde mich. ❌

German strongly prefers the object pronoun before the adjective here.

How would this sentence change if I talk about temperatures instead of weather?

Temperatur is feminine (die Temperatur), and in plural: die Temperaturen.

So the sentence becomes:

Singular: Diese Temperatur macht mich müde.
– This temperature makes me tired.
Plural: Diese Temperaturen machen mich müde.
– These temperatures make me tired.

Changes you see:

dieses Wetter (neuter, singular) → diese Temperatur (fem., singular) / diese Temperaturen (plural)
macht (3rd person singular) → machen (3rd person plural) with Temperaturen.

How would I say this in the past tense?

Use the Perfekt (present perfect), which is the usual spoken past in German:

Dieses Wetter hat mich müde gemacht.
– This weather made me tired.

Structure:

auxiliary hat (from haben)
past participle of machen = gemacht
predicate stays with the object: mich müde gemacht

So: Dieses Wetter hat mich müde gemacht.