Weather without a subject: dežuje, oblačno je, toča pada
Slovenian talks about the weather in three ways, and the borders are not where English puts them. In Slovenia almost every meeting starts with the weather. For example: “Ves dan dežuje, zvečer bo pa sneg” — It rains all day, and in the evening there will be snow. A rule from the Slovenian course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
Slovenian talks about the weather in three ways, and the borders are not where English puts them. In Slovenia almost every meeting starts with the weather.
The first way is a verb with no doer: dežuje, sneži, grmi, bliska se. In the past it takes the neuter: deževalo je, snežilo je.
The second is an adverb plus je: oblačno je, sončno je, soparno je. The sign comes first and je second, since je never opens a sentence. Je oblačno works only as a question.
The third is a noun: megla je, nevihta je. If the thing is happening, take a verb: dežuje. If it is the state of the air, an adverb: soparno je. If you can see the whole of it, a noun: mavrica je.
Table
| way | scheme | example | the English echo |
|---|---|---|---|
| a verb | no subject | dežuje | it’s raining |
| a verb | no subject | grmi | thunder is rumbling |
| a verb in the past | the neuter | snežilo je | it snowed |
| an adverb + je | the sign goes first | oblačno je | it’s cloudy |
| an adverb + je | the sign goes first | soparno je | it’s muggy |
| a noun | agreement | megla je | there is fog |
| a noun | agreement | nevihta bo | there will be a storm |
By example
- Ves dan dežuje, zvečer bo pa snegIt rains all day, and in the evening there will be snow
- Pred nevihto je bilo zelo soparnoIt was very muggy before the storm
- Zjutraj je bila megla, potem se je zjasniloIn the morning there was fog, then it cleared up
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
Weather without a subject: how does it work in Slovenian?
Slovenian talks about the weather in three ways, and the borders are not where English puts them. In Slovenia almost every meeting starts with the weather.
What does it look like in an example sentence Slovenian?
“Ves dan dežuje, zvečer bo pa sneg” — It rains all day, and in the evening there will be snow. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.