Learn Hardcore Russian: Пауза в беседе длится слишком долго. - The pause in the conversation lasts too long.

беседа is a feminine noun. When you use the preposition в to indicate location ("in something"), you put the noun into the Prepositional case. The singular Prepositional form of беседа is беседе, so в беседе literally means “in the conversation.”

What does the verb длится mean, and why is it used instead of something like продолжается?

длиться means “to last,” “to take (time),” or “to continue in time.”

длится is the 3rd person singular present form (it lasts).
You could replace it with продолжается (“it continues”), but длиться focuses more on the duration (“how long it lasts”), whereas продолжаться is slightly more formal and neutral.

Why is it долго and not долгой?

долго is an adverb meaning “for a long time” or “long.”
долгой is an adjective meaning “long” (describing a noun).
Here we modify the verb длится, so we need the adverb долго, not the adjective долгой.

What is the role of слишком in this sentence?

слишком is an adverb meaning “too” or “excessively.” It intensifies the degree of долго, so слишком долго means “too long.”

Can I rearrange the word order, for example, say Пауза длится слишком долго в беседе?

Russian has relatively free word order for emphasis, but the most neutral and common order is Пауза в беседе длится слишком долго.

Moving в беседе to the end (“…долго в беседе”) is grammatical but shifts the emphasis onto where the pause is, making the sentence feel a bit marked or poetic.

What’s the difference between беседа and разговор? Could I say Пауза в разговоре длится слишком долго?

They are close synonyms:

беседа often implies a more formal or focused dialogue.
разговор is everyday “talk” or “chat.”
You can definitely say Пауза в разговоре длится слишком долго in casual contexts; it just feels a bit less formal.

Why does длиться end with -ся? Is it reflexive?

The -ся in длиться isn’t reflexive in the sense of “doing something to oneself.” It marks an intransitive or middle-voice verb. Many Russian verbs that describe processes or changes use -ся to show that there’s no direct object. So длиться is simply how you say “to last” in Russian.

Could I replace пауза with another word like прерывание?

пауза is a “pause,” i.e. a brief silent break.
прерывание means “interruption,” which usually implies something forcibly stopped the flow.
If you want to stress that the conversation was breaked off, use прерывание, but if you just mean there was a gap of silence, пауза is more natural.

Where do you place the stress in слишком долго?

слишком: stress on the second syllable – слишКОМ.
долго: stress on the first syllable – ДОлго.