Question 1

Why does the sentence use hace (it makes) instead of es or está (it is) for the weather?

Accepted Answer

In English, we say "It is cool," using the verb "to be." However, Spanish uses the verb hacer (to do or to make) for many standard weather expressions. So, hace fresco literally means "it makes cool." You use this same pattern for hace frío (it's cold) and hace calor (it's hot).

Question 2

Why do we use hace for cool weather, but está for cloudy weather (está nublado)?

Accepted Answer

In Spanish, we generally use hacer with weather nouns (describing the "coolness," "heat," or "sun" the weather makes) and estar with adjectives that describe a temporary state or condition. Because nublado (cloudy) is an adjective describing how the sky looks right now, it uses estar.

Question 3

Where is the word for "you" in necesitas una chaqueta?

Accepted Answer

In Spanish, the ending of the verb tells you who is doing the action. The -as ending on necesitas specifically means "you need" (informal singular). You could say tú necesitas, but native speakers usually drop the tú because the verb ending already makes it perfectly clear who you are talking to.

Question 4

Is chaqueta the only word used for "jacket" in Latin America?

Accepted Answer

Chaqueta is widely understood, but clothing vocabulary changes a lot depending on the country! For example, in Mexico, you will almost always hear chamarra, while in Peru or parts of the Southern Cone, you might hear casaca or campera. For now, chaqueta is a great, safe word to learn.

Hace fresco afuera y necesitas una chaqueta.

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