Questions & Answers about Когда идёт дождь, я спускаюсь в переход и иду к метро.
Why does Russian say идёт дождь? Why use the verb идти for rain?
This is a very common Russian expression. Идёт дождь literally looks like the rain is going, but idiomatically it means it is raining.
Russian often uses verbs of motion in weather expressions:
- идёт дождь — it is raining
- идёт снег — it is snowing
So this is not about rain physically walking somewhere; it is just the normal Russian way to describe rainfall.
Why is it Когда идёт дождь and not something with если?
Когда here means when in the sense of whenever or at times when.
So:
- Когда идёт дождь... = When/Whenever it rains...
If you used если, the meaning would shift toward if:
- Если идёт дождь... = If it is raining...
Both can be possible in some contexts, but когда is natural here because the sentence describes a habitual situation: whenever it rains, I do this.
Why are the verbs идёт, спускаюсь, and иду all in the present tense?