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

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.