أنا أنتظر دقيقة قبل الغداء، ثم أقرأ الجواب.

You can usually drop أنا in Modern Standard Arabic because the verb already shows the subject:

• (أنا) أنتظر... = I wait / I am waiting... Including أنا adds emphasis/contrast (e.g., I am the one waiting).

In the present tense (المضارع), the prefix on the verb marks the person:

• أنتظر = I wait (prefix أ-)
• تنتظر = you (m.) wait / she waits (prefix ت-)
• ينتظر = he waits (prefix ي-)
• ننتظر = we wait (prefix ن-)

Arabic المضارع covers both ideas depending on context. أنتظر can mean:

• I wait (habitually), or
• I am waiting (right now / in progress) Context (and sometimes extra words) makes it clear.

Arabic often expresses duration directly with the time word as an object:

• أنتظر دقيقة = I wait a minute (i.e., for a minute) If you want to be extra explicit, you can also say:
• أنتظر لمدة دقيقة = I wait for a duration of a minute
• أنتظر دقيقة واحدة = I wait one minute

It has two common meanings depending on context:

• دقيقة = a minute (time)
• دقيقة = precise / دقيقةٌ (as an adjective, e.g., معلومة دقيقة “accurate information”) Here, the context with أنتظر clearly signals the time meaning.

قبل is used directly with a noun (no extra word needed):

• قبل الغداء = before lunch Grammatically, قبل is a time adverb that takes what follows in the genitive (in fully vowelled text: قبلَ الغداءِ).

الـ makes the noun definite:

• غداء = lunch (as a general/indefinite idea)
• الغداء = the lunch (often just “lunch” in English, but grammatically definite) Both can be seen; قبل الغداء is very common.

These connectors differ in sequence and pacing:

• ثم = then / after that, usually with a sense of later or a clear step-by-step sequence
• فـ = then/so, often implies immediate sequence or consequence
• و = and, may not strongly mark order So ثم أقرأ suggests “after waiting (and after that), I read.”

Yes, modern Arabic writing often uses commas similarly to English, especially to separate clauses:

• ... قبل الغداء، ثم أقرأ ... It’s a stylistic punctuation choice, not a grammar requirement.

The verb is from the root ق ر أ (which contains a hamza). In the 1st person present:

• أقرأ is pronounced roughly ’aqra’u (with a hamza at the start and another at the end in full pronunciation). In careful MSA, the ending is أقرأُ (with -u), though endings are usually not written.

الجواب = the answer (a specific answer, or “the answer” as something known in context).
If you mean “an answer” in general, you could say:

• أقرأ جوابًا (in fully vowelled text), commonly written أقرأ جوابا without diacritics.