B1 · Weather & Pronouns

Vocabulary: Weather, Climate & Natural Phenomena

B1 Focus: These words appear throughout the lesson. Notice how weather words can become verbs, adjectives and nouns using common suffixes. The pronoun section uses these words as context — learn them well before the grammar activities.

Weather Nouns (Съществителни за времето)

Hurricane/ˈhʌr.ɪ.keɪn/Ураган

Tornado/tɔːˈneɪ.dəʊ/Торнадо

Thunderstorm/ˈθʌn.də.stɔːm/Гръмотевична буря

Lightning/ˈlaɪt.nɪŋ/Мълния

Hail/heɪl/Градушка

Flood/flʌd/Наводнение

Drought/draʊt/Суша

Humidity/hjuːˈmɪd.ɪ.ti/Влажност

Atmosphere/ˈæt.mə.sfɪər/Атмосфера

Climate/ˈklaɪ.mɪt/Климат

Weather Verbs & Adjectives (Глаголи и прилагателни)

Scorching (adj.)/ˈskɔː.tʃɪŋ/Парещ, изгарящ

Freezing (adj.)/ˈfriː.zɪŋ/Леденостуден

Overcast (adj.)/ˌəʊ.vəˈkɑːst/Облачен, покрит с облаци

Trap (v.)/træp/Улавям, затварям в капан

Exhaust (v.)/ɪɡˈzɔːst/Изтощавам

Protect (v.)/prəˈtekt/Защитавам

Rotate (v.)/rəʊˈteɪt/Въртя се, ротирам

Weather Word Formation (Образуване на думи)

Cloud → cloudy/klaʊd/ → /ˈklaʊ.di/Облак → облачен

Wind → windy/wɪnd/ → /ˈwɪn.di/Вятър → ветровит

Sun → sunny → sunshine/sʌn/ → /ˈsʌn.i/Слънце → слънчев → слънчева светлина

Rain → rainy → rainfall/reɪn/ → /ˈreɪ.ni/Дъжд → дъждовен → валежи

Snow → snowy → snowfall/snəʊ/ → /ˈsnəʊ.i/Сняг → снежен → снеговалеж

Fog → foggy/fɒɡ/ → /ˈfɒɡ.i/Мъгла → мъглив

Ice → icy/aɪs/ → /ˈaɪ.si/Лёд → заледен, леден

Thunder → thundery/ˈθʌn.dər/ → /ˈθʌn.dər.i/Гръм → гръмотевичен

Storm → stormy/stɔːm/ → /ˈstɔː.mi/Буря → бурен

Climate & Environment (Климат и околна среда)

Global warming/ˌɡləʊ.bəl ˈwɔː.mɪŋ/Глобално затопляне

Meteorologist/ˌmiː.ti.əˈrɒl.ə.dʒɪst/Метеоролог

Tropics/ˈtrɒp.ɪks/Тропиците

Sahara/səˈhɑː.rə/Сахара

Raincoat/ˈreɪn.kəʊt/Дъждобран

Umbrella/ʌmˈbrel.ə/Чадър

Grammar Lab: Pronouns – Part 1

Key concept: In Bulgarian, pronouns often work differently — subjects are frequently dropped, and the same form covers more uses. In English, the form of the pronoun changes depending on its job in the sentence. Errors like "The storm scared we" or "She is a scientist which studies floods" mark you immediately as a non-native speaker. This lab teaches you to get these right every time.

0. Weather Word Formation: Patterns

Before the pronoun grammar, master how weather nouns change form. The most productive pattern at B1 is noun + -y → adjective: wind → windy, fog → foggy, storm → stormy.
Spelling rule: short vowel + single consonant → double the consonant before -y (fog → foggy, sun → sunny).

Compound nouns join two nouns to name a new object: rain + coat = raincoat. The first noun describes the second: a raincoat is a coat for rain; rainfall is the amount of rain that falls. These are always singular in form even if the idea is plural.

Noun	Adjective (-y)	Compound nouns	Bulgarian
rain	rainy	raincoat · rainfall · rainbow	дъжд → дъждовен
sun	sunny	sunshine · sunburn · sunscreen	слънце → слънчев
wind	windy	windmill · windscreen	вятър → ветровит
snow	snowy	snowfall · snowflake · snowstorm	сняг → снежен
fog	foggy	—	мъгла → мъглив
cloud	cloudy	thundercloud · cloudless	облак → облачен
ice	icy	iceberg · ice cap	лед → заледен
storm	stormy	thunderstorm · snowstorm	буря → бурен

📝 Easy: Write the correct adjective or compound noun.

1. It's very ___ (wind) outside — hold on to your hat!

2. Don't forget your ___ — the forecast says heavy rain. (rain + coat)

3. The children played in the ___ (sun) garden all afternoon.

4. Annual ___ in the Amazon exceeds 2,000 mm. (rain + fall)

5. The road was ___ (ice) and dangerous to drive on.

6. A ___ (fog) morning made it impossible to see further than ten metres.

🎯 Hard: Find and correct the word-formation error. Write only the corrected word.

1. "The sunly days made everyone happy." → correct adjective:

2. "Yesterday was very storm." → correct adjective:

3. "She put on her rain jacket." → use one compound word:

4. "The weather is very cloud today." → correct adjective:

5. "Heavy snows fell on the mountains." → one word for total snow that falls:

1. Subject vs Object Pronouns: The Action Flow

Think of a sentence as an action flowing from left to right: DOER → action → RECEIVER.
The subject (doer) starts the action → use I, you, he, she, it, we, they.
The object (receiver) receives the action → use me, you, him, her, it, us, them.

⚠️ Three common Bulgarian-speaker errors:
1. "Me and him watched the storm." — Both are subjects, so both need subject pronouns, and "I" always goes last: He and I watched the storm.
2. "The storm scared we." — After a verb, always use an object pronoun: scared us.
3. "The atmosphere, it is warming." — Never echo the subject with a pronoun. Say either The atmosphere is warming or It is warming, not both.

Subject pronouns (doer)	Object pronouns (receiver)	Weather example
I · you · he · she	me · you · him · her	She warned him about the flood.
it · we · they	it · us · them	It (the hurricane) destroyed them (the crops).
Note: "it" is identical in both positions — context tells you the role. "It destroyed the town" (subject) vs. "The storm hit it" (object).

✗ The storm scared we.
✗ The clouds, they frightened she.
✗ Me and him watched the lightning.

✓ The storm scared us.
✓ The clouds frightened her.
✓ He and I watched the lightning.

📝 Easy: Choose the correct pronoun.

1. The heavy rain trapped ___ indoors for three days.

2. ___ was the most powerful hurricane to hit the region in decades.

3. ___ works as a meteorologist at the national weather centre.

4. The lightning scared ___ completely.

5. The scorching sun burned ___ badly on the first day.

6. ___ say the drought could last another two months.

🎯 Hard: Each sentence has one pronoun error. Write only the corrected word or phrase.

1. "Me and my colleague drove through the flooding." → corrected subject:

2. "The atmosphere, it is warming rapidly." → rewrite without the doubled subject:

3. "The clouds frightened she." → correct object pronoun:

4. "Them are predicting heavy snowfall tonight." → correct subject pronoun:

5. "The hail hit we hard as we left the stadium." → correct object pronoun:

2. Relative Pronouns: Defining the Elements

A relative clause gives extra information about a noun — it is like a built-in description. The relative pronoun connects the two parts.
Choose based on what type of noun you are describing:

who / that → a person (meteorologist, resident, scientist)
which / that → a thing or event (tornado, storm, drought)
where → a place (desert, region, country)
whose → possession — replaces a possessive before a noun (his/her/its/their)

⚠️ Common errors at B1:
1. Using which for a person: "a scientist which studies floods" → must be who.
2. Adding an extra pronoun: "a storm that it rotates fast" → drop it: that rotates.
3. Using which for a place: "a place which it never rains" → where it never rains.

who / that → person

A meteorologist is a scientist who studies weather.
The people that live in the tropics are used to heat.
who = slightly more formal; that = also correct for people

which / that → thing

A tornado is a storm that rotates very fast.
Hail, which is frozen rain, damages crops.
Use which (not that) after a comma.

where → place · whose → possession

The Sahara is a desert where it almost never rains.
I know a scientist whose research focuses on floods.
whose = of whom / of which — always before a noun

✗ A tornado is a storm which it rotates fast.
✗ She is a meteorologist which studies floods.
✗ The Sahara is a place which it never rains.

✓ A tornado is a storm that rotates fast.
✓ She is a meteorologist who studies floods.
✓ The Sahara is a place where it never rains.

📝 Easy: Choose the correct relative pronoun.

1. She is a meteorologist ___ has studied hurricanes for twenty years.

2. I have a neighbour ___ roof was torn off in the last storm.

3. The Sahara is a desert ___ it almost never rains.

4. A tornado is a storm ___ can destroy an entire neighbourhood.

5. Lightning is electricity ___ builds up in clouds and discharges suddenly.

6. The region ___ flooding is most severe is currently being evacuated.

🎯 Hard: Join the two sentences using a relative pronoun. Write only the relative clause.

1. He is the scientist. His research changed our understanding of climate change. → He is the scientist

2. A drought is a period. There is no rain for months. → A drought is a period

3. The tropics are regions. The temperature hardly ever falls below 20°C there. → The tropics are regions

4. She works for a charity. The charity plants trees in deforested areas. → She works for a charity

5. We visited a village. The village was completely flooded. → We visited a village

3. Possessive Pronouns: Ownership of the Elements

English has two ways to show possession:
Possessive adjective — used before a noun to describe it: my, your, his, her, its, our, their.
Possessive pronoun — used alone to replace the whole noun phrase: mine, yours, his, hers, —, ours, theirs.

The key test: is there a noun after it?
→ Yes: use the adjective form: It is my umbrella.
→ No (noun already mentioned or implied): use the pronoun form: It is mine. (✗ It is mine umbrella)

⚠️ its (possessive adjective, no apostrophe) ≠ it's (it is). There is no standalone possessive pronoun for it.

Possessive adjective + noun	Possessive pronoun (alone)	Weather context
my umbrella	mine	My umbrella is broken. Can I use yours?
your raincoat	yours	Is that raincoat hers or his?
their forecast	theirs	Our forecast was right; theirs was not.
our shelter	ours	They found a shelter. Ours was further away.

✗ It is mine umbrella.
✗ That raincoat is her.
✗ The forecast is their.

✓ It is mine. (= my umbrella)
✓ That raincoat is hers.
✓ The forecast is theirs.

📝 Easy: Replace the underlined phrase with a possessive pronoun.

1. Is this your raincoat? → Is this

2. The accurate forecast was her forecast, not mine. → The accurate forecast was

3. That umbrella is my umbrella. → That umbrella is

4. The shelter on the left is our shelter. → The shelter on the left is

5. The emergency equipment is their equipment. → The emergency equipment is

🎯 Hard: Choose the correct form. Does a noun follow? → adjective. No noun? → pronoun.

1. I have an umbrella but Anna left ___ at the office. (replaces "her umbrella" — no noun follows)

2. ___ weather data was more accurate than the government's. (before "data" — noun follows)

3. We followed ___ evacuation plan carefully. (before "plan" — noun follows)

4. My boots are waterproof — are ___? (replaces "your boots" — no noun follows)

5. He lost ___ gloves in the snowstorm. (before "gloves" — noun follows)

4. Reflexive Pronouns: Self-Protection

Use a reflexive pronoun when the subject and the object are the same person or thing.
Forms: myself, yourself, himself, herself, itself, ourselves, yourselves, themselves.

There are three uses at B1:
1. Standard reflexive — the action goes back to the doer: She burned herself on the hot sand. (subject = she, object = she)
2. Emphatic — adds stress or surprise; the pronoun can be moved or removed: The storm itself lasted only two hours. / I myself checked the forecast.
3. By + reflexive = alone, without help, or (for natural events) without an external cause: The fire started by itself. / Did you build it by yourself?

⚠️ Key distinction: They exhausted themselves (they ran out of energy — reflexive) vs. The storm exhausted itself (the storm used all its energy — same structure, but for a natural process).

Standard reflexive (S = O)

Protect yourself from the scorching sun.
She burned herself on the hot sand.
They found themselves stranded in the blizzard.

Emphatic (stress / surprise)

The plan itself is good, but nobody acted on it.
I myself checked the forecast three times.
Remove it to test: meaning stays the same ✓

By + reflexive (alone / natural)

The fire started by itself — nobody was nearby.
She solved the problem by herself.
The storm exhausted itself over the sea.

📝 Easy: Write the correct reflexive pronoun.

1. The fire started by ___ — no one was near it.

2. We need to protect ___ from the hail — it's getting worse.

3. They built the flood barrier ___ without any help from the council.

4. Be careful — you could hurt ___ on that icy path.

5. The storm seemed to exhaust ___ after three hours.

6. I ___ was surprised by how cold it became at night in the desert.

🎯 Hard: Choose the correct option. The hint explains the meaning needed.

1. She enjoyed ___ at the winter festival despite the freezing temperatures. (subject = she, object = same person → standard reflexive)

2. Did the children manage to find shelter ___ or did someone help them? (meaning: without any help)

3. The forest fire spread ___ faster than expected. (meaning: no external cause — it spread on its own)

4. The town rebuilt ___ after the hurricane. (the town is both subject and object of "rebuild")

5. We warned ___ about the possibility of flooding but ignored the signs. (subject = we, object = same group)

5. Indefinite Pronouns: Generalising the Climate

Indefinite pronouns refer to people, things or places in a general, non-specific way — you do not identify who or what exactly.

They are built from a prefix + suffix:
Prefix: some- (positive) · any- (questions and negatives) · no- (negative meaning in itself) · every- (all, without exception)
Suffix: -one/-body (people) · -thing (things/ideas) · -where (places)

⚠️ Rule 1 — always singular: Even though everyone/everybody feels plural in meaning, English treats it as grammatically singular.
✓ Everyone is worried. ✗ Everyone are worried.

⚠️ Rule 2 — some- / any- / no-: Use some- in positive statements; any- in questions and after negatives; no- for negative meaning without using "not":
✓ I found somewhere to shelter.
✓ I didn't find anywhere to shelter. (negative sentence → any-)
✓ There was nowhere to shelter. (negative meaning → no-)

Category	some- (positive ✓)	any- (? / neg. ✗)	no- (negative meaning)	every- (all)
People	someone / somebody	anyone / anybody	no one / nobody	everyone / everybody
Things	something	anything	nothing	everything
Places	somewhere	anywhere	nowhere	everywhere

✗ Everyone are cold after the blizzard.
✗ There was anywhere to hide from the hail.
✗ I couldn't find somewhere to shelter.

✓ Everyone is cold after the blizzard.
✓ There was nowhere to hide from the hail.
✓ I couldn't find anywhere to shelter.

📝 Easy: Choose the correct indefinite pronoun.

1. There was ___ to hide from the hail.

2. ___ in this region has been affected by the heatwave.

3. Is ___ being done about the flooding in the south?

4. Did ___ see where the storm drain was?

5. ___ knows exactly when the drought will end.

6. ___ complains about the humidity here in summer.

🎯 Hard: Each sentence has one error — wrong pronoun OR wrong verb agreement. Write only the corrected word.

1. "I didn't find somewhere to park during the snowstorm." → correct pronoun:

2. "Everyone are worried about the hurricane." → correct verb:

3. "Something are wrong with the weather forecasting system." → correct verb:

4. "There was anywhere to take shelter." → correct pronoun:

5. "Nobody were at home when the flood hit." → correct verb:

6. "Everyone have prepared emergency kits." → correct verb:

🎯 Hard: Meaning Pairs. Two sentences differ only in one pronoun. Select the correct explanation of the difference in meaning.

A. Someone reported the flooding to the council.

B. Everyone reported the flooding to the council.

What is the difference in meaning?

A. There is somewhere to take shelter.

B. There is nowhere to take shelter.

What is the difference in meaning?

A. Something is being done about global warming.

B. Nothing is being done about global warming.

What is the difference in meaning?

Active → Passive Voice

Instructions: Rewrite each active sentence in the passive voice. Keep the same tense. Include the agent (by …) only when shown in brackets. All sentences use weather and climate vocabulary. Type the full passive sentence.

Exercise 1 — Present Simple & Past Simple

✏️ Rewrite in the passive. Keep the tense.

1. The hurricane destroys everything in its path.

2. The tornado damaged dozens of houses last night.

3. They issue severe weather warnings every year.

4. The flooding trapped the residents for three days.

5. Scientists record rainfall data every month.

6. The hailstorm destroyed the entire crop. [by the hailstorm]

7. Meteorologists predict the weather using satellite data.

8. The drought affected millions of people across the continent.

9. The government issues flood warnings every winter.

10. Lightning started the forest fire last summer.

Exercise 2 — Present Continuous & Past Continuous

✏️ Rewrite in the passive. Keep the continuous tense.

1. Scientists are monitoring the drought conditions closely.

2. Rescue workers are evacuating the flooded village right now.

3. They are testing new flood barriers along the river.

4. Workers were repairing the sea wall when the second storm struck.

5. The team was measuring wind speeds all through the night.

6. They are broadcasting live weather updates at the moment.

7. Engineers were reinforcing the dam walls when the flood alert was issued.

8. Someone is tracking the hurricane's path using satellites.

9. They were distributing emergency supplies when the second wave hit.

10. The council is currently reviewing the flood defence plan.

Exercise 3 — Present Perfect & Past Perfect

✏️ Rewrite in the passive. Keep the perfect tense.

1. They have already issued a red weather warning.

2. The storm has flooded three towns in the south.

3. The authorities have closed the coastal road.

4. Nobody had repaired the flood barriers before the hurricane arrived.

5. They had already evacuated the residents before the dam broke.

6. Scientists have discovered a link between deforestation and drought.

7. The government had warned coastal communities before the surge arrived.

8. Researchers have published new data on global temperature rise.

9. The heatwave has broken records across the whole country.

10. Nobody had predicted such a severe drought in that region before.

Exercise 4 — Future (will) & Modals

✏️ Rewrite in the passive. Keep the future or modal.

1. They will announce the new flood defence plan tomorrow.

2. Someone must repair the sea wall before winter.

3. You should report any signs of flooding to the council immediately.

4. They will open the new climate research centre next spring.

5. Authorities can measure wind speeds using Doppler radar.

6. They will evacuate the entire coastal zone before the hurricane arrives.

7. You must not ignore a red weather warning.

8. Scientists can track storm systems from space.

9. The government will release the new climate report next month.

10. They must board up all windows before the hurricane makes landfall.

Exercise 5 — Mixed Tenses

✏️ Mixed exercise. Decide the tense from context, then write the full passive sentence.

1. They discovered the link between fossil fuels and climate change decades ago.

2. Meteorologists are currently analysing the data from the last storm.

3. They had already closed the roads before the blizzard reached the city.

4. The council will install new flood sensors along the river next year.

5. Scientists measure sea levels every six months.

6. Engineers were reinforcing the flood barriers when the storm arrived.

7. The heatwave has forced thousands of people to leave their homes.

8. You must report any unusual weather activity to the meteorological office.

9. Researchers published the new climate report last Tuesday. [by researchers]

10. They have not yet resolved the dispute over the new climate targets.

Cloze Text: A Changing Climate

B1 Focus: Read the article and choose the correct word for each gap. The gaps test all five pronoun types from this lesson, as well as the weather vocabulary you have learnt.

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Key Word Transformation

Instructions: Read the first sentence. Then complete the second sentence so that it has a similar meaning. Use the key word shown in orange. Do not change the key word. Use 2–5 words in total for the completion.

Exercises: Pronoun Practice

B1 Focus: These exercises practise all pronoun types from the lesson. Type your answers carefully — UK English spelling is required.

Tense Writing: Weather & Climate

Instructions: Put the verb in brackets into the correct tense. All sentences use weather and climate vocabulary from this lesson. Exercises 1 and 2 are active tenses; Exercises 3–5 include passives.

📝 Exercise 1 (1–10) — Active tenses

1. The storm ___ (destroy) the coastal town before anyone could evacuate.

2. It ___ (rain) for six hours when the river finally burst its banks.

3. Scientists say the climate ___ (change) faster than predicted.

4. Nobody ___ (see) a tornado here before last Tuesday.

5. By this time next year, they ___ (study) the effects of the drought for a decade.

6. Everybody ___ (complain) about the heat when the air conditioning broke down.

7. The fog ___ (lift) by the time we reached the coast.

8. She ___ (work) as a meteorologist for fifteen years.

9. The temperature ___ (drop) every night this week.

10. The tornado ___ (exhaust) itself long before it reached the city.

🎯 Exercise 2 (11–20) — Mixed active tenses

11. Something ___ (change) in the atmosphere over the past century.

12. Everyone ___ (evacuate) the village by the time the flood arrived.

13. It ___ (snow) heavily for three days when the roads finally closed.

14. Nobody ___ (expect) such a severe heatwave so early in the year.

15. She ___ (protect) herself from the sun since she arrived in the tropics.

16. By 2050, the Sahara ___ (expand) significantly further north.

17. The meteorologist whose research ___ (focus) on sea-level rise presented her findings.

18. They ___ (monitor) the drought conditions when the first rains arrived.

19. The hailstorm ___ (damage) crops every year in this region.

20. The fire ___ (start) by itself because of the scorching temperatures.

🎯 Exercise 3 (21–30) — Passive verbs, mixed tenses

21. The village ___ (destroy) by the tornado before help arrived.

22. Several houses ___ (currently / flood) — residents are being evacuated.

23. The emergency shelter ___ (build) before the next storm arrives.

24. The new forecast system ___ (install) before last winter's blizzard hit.

25. Everybody ___ (warn) about the incoming heatwave yesterday.

26. Nothing ___ (do) about the flooding for weeks — it is still rising.

27. The report on climate change ___ (release) at tomorrow's conference.

28. The crops ___ (damage) by the hail when the farmers arrived at dawn.

29. All windows must ___ (board up) before the hurricane makes landfall.

30. The coastline ___ (erode) significantly over the past two decades.

🎯 Exercise 4 (31–40) — Mixed active and passive

31. The meteorologist ___ (not / predict) such a rapid change in the weather.

32. A new weather satellite ___ (launch) by the space agency next spring.

33. Nobody ___ (prepare) for the flooding — everyone was taken by surprise.

34. The data on global warming ___ (not / publish) yet — it is still being reviewed.

35. She ___ (monitor) storm activity for six hours when she spotted the tornado.

36. The drought ___ (break) by the time the government's water plan takes effect.

37. Something ___ (do) to reduce carbon emissions immediately.

38. The flooding ___ (cause) by the heavy rainfall that followed the drought.

39. Everyone ___ (shelter) in the sports hall when the hailstorm passed overhead.

40. She ___ (be) a leading climate scientist for over twenty-five years.

🎯 Exercise 5 (41–50) — Advanced Mixed

41. By the time the rescue team arrived, the tornado ___ (already / destroy) thirty homes.

42. The coastal road ___ (already / flood) before the emergency warning was issued.

43. Nothing ___ (officially / confirm) about the cause of the wildfire yet.

44. She ___ warned us about the risk — use the emphatic reflexive in the gap. (herself / himself / itself)

45. By next decade, temperatures ___ (rise) by another degree on average.

46. The shelter ___ (close) by the time they found somewhere safe to sleep.

47. The atmosphere ___ (heat) continuously since the industrial revolution. [passive, present perfect]

48. Everyone ___ (relocate) to higher ground before the flood reached the town.

49. The fire ___ (spread) by itself before firefighters arrived — no one had started it.

50. Somewhere in this region, the effect of global warming ___ (feel) most strongly. [passive]