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When asking about the weather for this coming weekend, which of the following sentences is most appropriate when asking your friend what the weather will be on the weekend?

What is the weather for this weekend?

What is the weather going to be this weekend?

What is the weather like this weekend?

Or are there other sentences?

Thank you in advance.

Community
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tennis girl
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2 Answers2

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The second example is OK, though I would prefer to say

What is the weather forecast for this weekend?

Forecast is the best term since we really don't know for sure in advance.

What is as used in the first and third examples is present tense, but you are referring to a future event, so these are not correct.

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The three examples in the question are clear and natural enough that there is not good reason, I think, to take exception to them. A shorter form, possibly more natural, is “What's the weather this weekend?”

True, the form suggested by user3169 adds some precision to the question by acknowledging that a prediction or forecast is what is being asked about. But I think it unnecessary to insist upon spelling that out.

Regarding the tense, present tense rather than a future form is suitable because a question like “What's the weather this weekend?” will be understood to mean “What's the current prediction for what the weather will be like this weekend?” or to mean “What do you think the weather will be like this weekend?”.

James Waldby - jwpat7
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    I agree. I think the weather has taken on the meaning the weather forecast, so when I ask "Have you checked the weather for this weekend?" it's clear that I'm asking about the forecast, not the weather itself. –  Mar 21 '13 at 03:58
  • Thank you, all of you. These answers are all very helpful to me. – tennis girl Mar 21 '13 at 07:01
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    I'd propose this one: "What will the weather be like this weekend?" (even though that uses the future tense, I'm not disagreeing with your answer; I agree that either present or future tense can be used in this context, because we're talking about the current forecast of future weather). – J.R. Mar 21 '13 at 09:52