Linda Hall -Hotter and Hotter

SPANISH weather does but English weather is.

The fact that Pepe Garcia and Joe Blogs use two very different verbs to describe the weather more or less sums up the meteorological differences between Spain and Britain:

What’s the weather like today?…..¿qué tiempo hace hoy? (using the verb hacer which means to make or do)

You could, if you were so inclined, detect some faintly philosophical or mildly metaphysical links here, but meanwhile there will still be times when you can put things differently, usually at other times of the year, or at least on the Costas:

It’s cloudy…..está nublado

It’s raining…..está lloviendo

It’s snowing…..está nevando

You can also switch verbs again with

It’s summer…..es verano

But as I write this, with temperatures in the high 30s, there is just one way of describing it:

It’s very, very hot…..hace muchísimo calor

Nevertheless, you can always choose a different construction by observing:

This is going to be a hot summer….este va a ser un verano caluroso

On the other hand, if you want to convey not temperature but temper:

This is going to be a hot summer politically or socially…..este va a ser un verano caliente (especially apt with an unexpected general election on July 23).

Although it does nothing to make anyone feel cooler, the following are frequently-heard phrases at present:

How hot it is!…..¡qué calor hace!

How hot I am – ¡qué calor tengo!

I feel hot and bothered…..estoy agobiado(a) or sofocado(a) although both words are suitable in situations that have nothing to do with the weather

How sultry it is!…..¡qué bochorno! which can also be used when having witnessed or done something cringeworthy

Fogoso, which sounds a damp, dismal and foggy word, has no associations with fog.  Instead it means fiery – not with reference to the summer weather – but to ardour, passion or fanatism.

Exactly the word right word for emotions in a summer that promises to be hot in all senses of the word.