It’s time to learn months and seasons in Spanish in more detail. As always, we are not only going to list them as new words, but to build all kinds of sentences where they can be used.
¿Cuáles son las estaciones del año?
Las estaciones del año son invierno, primavera, verano y otoño
invierno — winter
primavera — spring
verano — summer
otoño — fall (autumn)
To ask about what season it is now, there is an expression in Spanish, that can seem quite unusual to an English speaker.
¿En qué estación del año estamos? — What season of the year is it now?
Estamos en primavera — It’s spring
The literal translation of this would be as follows:
In what season of the year are we?
We are in spring
Get used to the verb “estar” in this context. Its forms can be different, depending on who you are talking about, but they are always plural.
¿En qué estación están en Australia?
En Australia están en primavera
¿En qué estación del año estáis?
Estamos en otoño
Try it yourself:
What season is it now?
It’s summer
What season is it in Argentina?
In Argentina it’s winter
What season is it now in your place?
It’s autumn here
¿Cuáles son los meses del año?
Los meses del año son:
enero — January
febrero — February
marzo — March
abril — April
mayo — May
junio — June
julio — July
agosto — August
septiembre — September
octubre — October
noviembre — November
diciembre — December
“Septiembre” is pronounced as [setiembre].
Use the verb “estar” to talk about months, as well.
¿En qué mes estamos? — What month is it now?
Estamos en marzo — It’s March
¿Cuáles son los meses de verano? – What are the summer months?
Los meses de verano son junio, julio y agosto — The summer months are June, July and August
Try it yourself:
What month is it now?
It’s September
What are the winter months?
The winter months are December, January and February
Remember the previous lesson. If you need to say, that something happens in a certain month or season, don’t use articles.
En verano descanso en la playa – In the summer I relax on the beach
En febrero aquí hay mucha nieve – In February there is much snow here
Keep in mind, that in some cultures seasons can officially start on a day different from the first day of a month. In Spain, in particular, summer starts between the 20th and 23d of June, and autumn starts between the 20th and 23d of September. The exact date depends on the solstice or the equinox, which happen on different days every year.
Don’t forget about the difference between the Northern and the Southern Hemispheres. When it’s summer in the UK, it’s winter in Australia. It can be important, because most of the Latin American countries are located in the Southern Hemisphere.
What a weird world, isn’t it?
Ejercicio 1
Say it in Spanish
January, May, September, winter, February, fall, spring, August, March, summer, December, November
Ejercicio 2
Answer the questions
1. ¿En qué estación del año estamos ahora? (verano) — …
2. ¿En qué mes estamos? (noviembre) — …
3. ¿Cuándo Silvia vende su casa? (primavera) — …
4. ¿Cuándo abre el café cerca de tu casa? (abril) — …
5. ¿En qué mes regresa Carmelo? (junio) — …
6. ¿Cuándo termina el curso de español? (mayo) — …
7. ¿Dónde están tus niños en verano? (campo) — …
8. ¿En qué estación del año están en Chile? (invierno) — …
Ejercicio 3
Translate into Spanish
1. What are the seasons of the year?
2. What are the months of the year?
3. What month is it now?
4. It’s July
5. What season is it now?
6. It’s winter
7. In the summer we live in the village
8. In January Luis will buy a new car
9. They work a lot in December
10. In the winter the children study, and in the summer they have a rest
11. What month will you finish the project?
12. I will finish the project in May