Length: approx. 45 minutes
Level: Intermediate +
WHY YOU SHOULD KNOW RAIN VOCABULARY
What do you call a bear caught out in the rain?
A drizzily bear.
The annual number of rain days in the UK has fluctuated over the past three decades. The year with the greater number of rain days was 2000 when 178.6 days had at least 1 mm of rain.
England is on average the driest country in the United Kingdom. In 2020, the country recorded an average of 953 mm. May was the driest month in England that year. Scotland is the wettest country, which is no surprise when its mountainous landscape and northern location are considered.
Wettest cities in Britain. Between 1981 and 2010, Cardiff received an average of 115.19 cm of rain per year, Glasgow residents endured an average of 170 days of rain. Despite its rainy reputation, England’s capital city London did not make the 10 wettest cities in Britain.
This lesson consists of three parts. You will learn 12 words, 7 idioms and 7 phrasal verbs connected with rainy weather and do 7 exercises using your voice and filling the gaps in the sentences.
Note: all the definitions and examples are taken from the Cambridge Dictionary, Collins Dictionary, Longman Dictionary and Merriam-Webster Dictionary.
PART 1: general words and phrasal verbs.
PART 2: idioms and phrasal verbs.
PART 3: practice.
PART ONE
General words and expressions connected with rainy weather
Read and listen to my pronunciation and explanation of the words. Repeat every word and expression after me.
GENERAL WORDS
1. Gloomy – dark in a way that is unpleasant and makes it difficult to see: What gloomy weather we’re having!
2. Be overcast – with clouds in the sky and therefore not bright and sunny: The sky/weather was overcast. On a depressing, overcast winter morning it is difficult to get out of bed.
3. Cloudy – with clouds: Scotland will be cloudy with wintry showers.
4. Stormy – with strong wind, heavy rain, and often thunder and lightning: The sky was dark and stormy.
NOTE: «cloudy» and «overcast» are synonyms.
LIGHT RAIN
5. A sprinkle/to sprinkle– a very light fall of rain or snow that lasts only a short time: We might get a sprinkle today. Someone who says that it is sprinkling means it is raining lightly.
6. Drizzle (U) /To drizzle – (to) rain in very small drops: Tomorrow will be cloudy with outbreaks of rain and drizzle. It’s been drizzling all day.
NOTE: «drizzle/to drizzle» and «a sprinkle/to sprinkle» are synonyms.
HEAVY RAIN
7. A shower (of rain, hail, sleet or snow) – a short period of rain or snow, often heavy: Oh, you’re soaked! Did you get caught in the shower? There will be thundery/wintry showers over many parts of the country.
8. To sheet down (phr. v.) – to rain very hard: We can’t go out yet, it’s sheeting down outside / to rain in sheets – a large quantity of rain: The rain was coming down in sheets.
NOTE: According to Collins Dictionary, the phrasal verb «sheet down» or the expression «to rain in sheets» is not common nowadays and almost not used. Just be familiar with it.
VERY HEAVY RAIN
9. Torrential /pouring rain – used to refer to very heavy rain: torrential rain/a torrential downpour/storm
10. A downpour – a lot of rain in a short time: Downpours can cause serious floods in this part of the year.
11. A deluge – a very large amount of rain or water: This little stream can become a deluge when it rains heavily.
12. A cloudburst – a sudden heavy fall of rain: By Murphy’s law, I always get caught in a cloudburst when I don’t have an umbrella with me!
13. To pelt down (with rain) (phr.v.) – to rain heavily: It’s pelting down with rain.
14. To bucket down (with rain) (phr.v.) – a syn. for «to pelt down (with rain)»: It’s absolutely bucketing down.
15. To teem down (with rain) (phr.v.) – a syn. for «to pelt/bucket down»: It’s been teeming down all day. It’s teeming with rain.
NOTE: All the expressions are very close in meaning.
ICY RAIN
16. Hail (U) / to hail – small, hard balls of ice that fall from the sky like rain: A lot of cars were damaged by the hail. It’s hailed a lot recently.
PART TWO
Rainy Idioms and phrasal verbs
- COME RAIN OR SHINE – whatever happens: Come rain or shine, I’ll see him tomorrow..
- IT NEVER RAINS BUT IT POURS – said when one bad thing happens, followed by a lot of other bad things that make a bad situation worse: First he lost his love, then his job, then his leg – it never rains but it pours.
- RAIN ON SOMEBODY’S PARADE – to do something that spoils someone’s plans: I’m sorry to rain on your parade but you’re not allowed to have alcohol on the premises.
- RAIN STH DOWN (phr.v.) – to fall in large amounts, or to direct something in large amounts: Bombs rained down on the besieged city.
- RAIN STH OFF (phr.v.) – If an event is rained off, it cannot start or continue because it is raining: That hockey match was rained off.
- BE (AS) RIGHT AS RAIN – to feel healthy or well again: You just need a good night’s sleep, and then you’ll be right as rain again.
- BE SOAKED THROUGH (phr.v.) – be really wet: I got caught in heavy rain and was soaked through immediately.
- BE ON CLOUD NINE – be very happy: He’s on cloud nine – I think he’s got some news from his girlfriend.
- TO CHASE RAINBOWS – to try to reach something that is unlikely to happen: Is she still hoping to convince the boss she’s the best for the job? I think she’s chasing rainbows.
- TO HAVE ONE’S HEAD IN THE CLOUDS – not to be realistic: She has her head in the clouds if she believes them.
PART THREE
Practice
Well done! Now let’s do the test to put the vocabulary into practice.
In the first exercise, you have to record yourself, then download the recording to your computer and send it to my email, Telegram or Instagram if you want me to check it.
Speak clearly and loudly.
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Now you will need to answer the questions or complete the sentences with your voice. You will see the result immediately. IMPORTANT: it works only on Google Chrome.
For better results, please speak clearly and loudly. NOTE: works only on Google Chrome.
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THE LESSON IS ALMOST OVER. JUST DO TWO MORE TASKS AND THEN TAKE A BREAK!)
Go for a quiz!
NOTE: Please, do NOT press the «enter» button on your computer. Press only the buttons on the page of a quiz.