If essere is the Swiss army knife of verbs, then fare is the all-in-one, handy-dandy kitchen appliance. The verb fare expresses the basic idea of doing or making, as in fare gli esercizi (to do the exercises) and fare il letto (to make the bed), but it is also used in many idioms).

　　Che tempo fa? (How is the weather?)

　　Fa bel tempo. (The weather is nice.)

　　Fa cattivo tempo. (The weather is bad.)

　　Ha fatto caldo. (It has been warm.)

　　Qui fa sempre freddo. (It's always cold here.)

　　In primavera fa sempre fresco. (In spring it's always cool.)

　　Besides idiomatic expressions, and expressions relating to the weather, the verb fare is used in a number of proverbs:

　　Fare e disfare è tutt'un lavorare. (It's all go, it's a hard life.)

　　Chi la fa l'aspetti. (You will get as good as you gave.)

　　Chi fa da sé fa per tre. (If you want something done, do it yourself.)

　　Non fare agli altri ciò che non vorresti fosse fatto a te. (Do as you would be done by.)

　　Tutto fa brodo. (Every little bit helps.)

　　Chi non sa fare, non sa comandare. (A bad worker is a bad master.)