Learn Hardcore Russian: Идёт ли дождь?

In English we use a dummy subject it in weather expressions (“It is raining”), but Russian doesn’t. Instead, the weather phenomenon itself (here дождь) is the grammatical subject, so you simply say идёт дождь (“rain goes” meaning “it is raining”) without adding it.

What does the verb идёт mean here, and why is идти used for rain?

The basic meaning of идти is “to go” or “to walk,” but in meteorological contexts Russian uses идти to describe precipitation moving or falling from the sky. So идёт дождь literally means “rain is going,” idiomatically “it’s raining.”

How does the question particle ли work and where does it go?

The particle ли turns a statement into a yes/no question. It attaches to the first word (often the verb) and signals a neutral question. In Идёт ли дождь?, ли follows идёт, so the structure is verb + ли + subject.

Can I ask the same question without using ли, and if so how?

Yes. You can drop ли and rely on rising intonation:
– Идёт дождь? (with a question pitch)
You can also switch word order: Дождь идёт? The particle ли is more formal or written; in speech, intonation-only questions are very common.