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Questions & Answers about Oggi il tempo è mite.
What does tempo mean in this sentence?
Here tempo refers to weather, not time. In Italian, when talking about weather conditions, you use il tempo to mean “the weather.”
Why is there a definite article il before tempo?
Italian generally uses a definite article with weather nouns. You say il tempo, il sole, la neve, etc., because you’re referring to “the weather” or “the sun” in a general sense.
Is mite an adjective? How does it agree in gender and number?
Yes, mite is an adjective meaning “mild.” It has one form for both masculine and feminine singular (mite) and a plural form (miti). Example: giornate miti, climi miti.
Why do we use è (from essere) instead of fa (from fare) here?
With descriptive adjectives like mite, Italian uses essere: il tempo è mite. You use fare only with certain expressions of temperature that function like impersonal verbs, e.g. fa caldo, fa freddo.
Can I move oggi to the end and say Il tempo è mite oggi?
Absolutely. Both orders are correct:
- Oggi il tempo è mite. (emphasis on oggi)
- Il tempo è mite oggi. (emphasis on the weather)
How do you pronounce mite?
It’s pronounced /ˈmi.te/. The stress falls on the first syllable MI.
How do you ask “Is the weather mild?” in Italian?
Just raise your intonation at the end:
- Il tempo è mite?
- Or add oggi: Oggi il tempo è mite?
Are there alternative ways to express “mild weather” in Italian?
Yes. You can use synonyms like temperato (“tempered”) or refer to it as clima mite (“mild climate”) or giornata mite (“mild day”).