Kiedy pada deszcz, wsiadam do autobusu zamiast iść pieszo do pracy.

When it rains, I get on the bus instead of walking to work.

Breakdown of Kiedy pada deszcz, wsiadam do autobusu zamiast iść pieszo do pracy.

• ja: I
• iść: to go
• do: to
• kiedy: when

Questions & Answers about Kiedy pada deszcz, wsiadam do autobusu zamiast iść pieszo do pracy.

What does kiedy mean here: when or whenever?

Here it is best understood as whenever. The sentence describes a repeated habit, not one single occasion:

Kiedy pada deszcz, wsiadam do autobusu...
= Whenever it rains, I get on / take the bus...

Polish often uses the present tense this way for general or repeated situations.

Why is there no ja in the sentence?

Because the verb already shows the subject.

wsiadam ends in -am, which tells you it means I get on / I board. In Polish, subject pronouns like ja are often omitted unless you want emphasis or contrast.

So:

• Wsiadam do autobusu = normal, neutral
• Ja wsiadam do autobusu = more emphatic, like I get on the bus

Is pada deszcz the normal way to say it’s raining?