Если ты долго ждёшь кассира, ты начинаешь уставать.

If you wait for the cashier for a long time, you start to get tired.

Breakdown of Если ты долго ждёшь кассира, ты начинаешь уставать.

• если: if
• ты: you
• долго: long
• начинать: to start
• кассир: the cashier
• ждать: to wait for
• уставать: to get tired

Questions & Answers about Если ты долго ждёшь кассира, ты начинаешь уставать.

Why is кассира in the genitive case rather than the accusative after ждать?

In Russian, the verb ждать (“to wait for”) governs the genitive case, not the accusative. This is a fixed government pattern:

• ждать
  • Genitive (кого? чего?)
    Example: ждать автобуса, ждать друга
    Even though English uses the accusative (“wait for the cashier”), Russian uses genitive here.

What part of speech is долго, and why isn’t it долгий?

Долго is an adverb meaning “for a long time.”

• Adverb answer the question “how?” (Как?) → долго ждёшь = “you wait for a long time.”
  Долгий is an adjective meaning “long” and must agree with a noun in gender, number, and case (долгий день, долгая ночь). You need the adverb form to modify the verb ждать.

Why is there a comma before ты начинаешь уставать?

This sentence is a complex conditional with two clauses joined by если:

1. Если ты долго ждёшь кассира (If you wait a long time for the cashier)
2. ты начинаешь уставать (you begin to get tired)
   Russian punctuation rules require a comma between the “if” clause (subordinate clause) and the main clause.

How does the conditional если work here? Can you omit it?

• Если introduces a real condition: “If X happens, then Y happens.”
• You cannot drop если without restructuring the sentence.
  You could use inversion or participles for brevity, e.g.:
  Долго ждёшь кассира – начинаешь уставать.
  but that’s more colloquial and shifts style, not exactly the same structure as with если.

What is the aspectual difference between ждать (imperfective) and подождать (perfective)? Could we use подождёшь instead?

• Ждать (imperf.) describes a process without indicating completion. It focuses on the duration: you are in the state of waiting.
• Подождать (perf.) indicates that the waiting is completed or will be completed in a bounded sense: “to wait (for a while).”
  If you say Если ты подождёшь кассира, ..., it implies “if you manage to wait (long enough) for the cashier,” which shifts the nuance.
  The original with ждёшь emphasizes the ongoing action that causes fatigue.

Why use начинаешь уставать (imperfective) instead of начинаешь устать (perfective)?

• Начинать
  • imperfective infinitive (уставать) expresses the onset of a continuous process: you start to get tired and remain in that process.
• Устать (perfective) would mean “to become tired” as a single, completed event.
  Combining начинать with a perfective infinitive is not standard: you’d normally say начинать + Imperf. or постепенно + perf. if you want a different nuance.

Why is ждёшь stressed on ё, and does that matter when writing?

• In Russian, ё is always stressed. The verb form ждёшь (2nd person singular of ждать) uses the letter ё, which unambiguously marks stress.
• In practice, native texts sometimes replace ё with е, but that can lead to ambiguity. For learners, it’s best to write ждёшь with ё to show correct pronunciation.

Can we omit the subject pronoun ты in either clause?

Yes. Russian is a pro-drop language, so you can say:

• Если долго ждёшь кассира, начинаешь уставать.
  Both verbs are clearly marked 2nd person singular (ждёшь, начинаешь), so ты is implied.

Could we rephrase the sentence more colloquially? What changes?

A more conversational version might drop если and the subject pronouns:

• Долго ждёшь кассира – устаёшь.
  Here:
  • The dash replaces the comma + если.
  • начинаешь is dropped for brevity, and устаёшь (imperfective) covers the meaning “you get tired.”
    This feels more direct but is less formal/complete than the original.