Я жду курьера у входа в офис.

I am waiting for the courier at the entrance to the office.

Breakdown of Я жду курьера у входа в офис.

• я: I
• в: to
• у: at
• вход: the entrance
• ждать: to wait
• офис: the office
• курьер: the courier

Questions & Answers about Я жду курьера у входа в офис.

Why is it Я жду and not something like “I am waiting” with a special progressive form?

Russian doesn’t have a separate progressive tense. The present tense of an imperfective verb covers both simple and progressive meanings. So Я жду can mean “I wait” or “I am waiting,” and context decides which is intended. Here it naturally means “I am waiting.”

Why is it курьера and not курьер after жду?

Because ждать governs a direct object and uses either the genitive or the accusative. For animate masculine nouns like курьер, the accusative singular form looks the same as the genitive singular: курьера. Saying жду курьер is ungrammatical.

Does ждать take genitive or accusative? Is there a difference?

Both are possible with ждать:

• Historically, the genitive was standard: ждать курьера/поезда.
• In modern Russian, the accusative is also common, especially in speech: ждать поезд.
• Nuance: with inanimate nouns, genitive often sounds a bit more formal or neutral; accusative can feel more colloquial or “specific/definite.” With animate singular nouns, you can’t hear the difference because forms coincide (курьера = both genitive and accusative).

How do I conjugate ждать? Where’s the stress?

• Infinitive: ждать.
• Present: я ждУ, ты ждЁшь, он/она ждЁт, мы ждЁм, вы ждЁте, они ждУт.
• Note the stress: я ждУ, они ждУт; elsewhere on ё. In everyday writing, ё is often written as е (e.g., ждешь), but it’s still pronounced /ё/.

Why у входа? What case is входа?

The preposition у (“by/at/near”) requires the genitive case, so вход becomes входа. У входа means “by the entrance” or “at the entrance (area),” not inside.

Why is it в офис after входа? Why not в офисе?

Here в офис complements the noun вход and means “entrance to/into the office.” After nouns like вход and выход, Russian uses:

• вход в + Accusative (entrance into): вход в офис
• выход из + Genitive (exit from): выход из офиса Using в офисе would mean “in the office,” which isn’t what “entrance into” expresses.

Could I say у офиса instead of у входа в офис?

You can, but it’s less specific:

• У офиса = near the office in general (the building/area).
• У входа в офис = specifically at the office entrance. If you want somebody to find you easily, у входа is clearer.

Is there a difference between у входа, на входе, and перед входом?

Yes, small nuances:

• У входа: by/near the entrance (proximity).
• На входе: at the entry point/doorway (often where checks happen). Common in signs: “Masks required на входе.”
• Перед входом: directly in front of the entrance (on the outside, facing it). Uses instrumental: перед входом.

Could I use при входе?

При входе means “upon entering/at the time of entry” rather than a physical location where you stand. It appears in rules/instructions (e.g., При входе покажите пропуск — “Show your pass upon entry”). It doesn’t replace у входа when you mean “I’m standing by the entrance.”

How would I say this in the future or past?

• Future (I’ll wait):
  • Я подожду (курьера) — I’ll wait (for a bit).
  • Я буду ждать (курьера) — I will be waiting / I will wait (neutral).
• Past:
  • Я ждал/я ждала (курьера) — I waited / I was waiting.
• With durations:
  • Present ongoing: Я жду уже десять минут.
  • Past: Я ждал(а) десять минут.

What’s the difference between ждать, подождать, дождаться, and ожидать?

• Ждать (impf.): to wait (process), neutral.
• Подождать (pfv.): to wait for a bit / to take a moment to wait; often short, future meaning in the form подожду.
• Дождаться (pfv.): to wait until the awaited person/thing finally arrives (focus on result): Я дождался курьера.
• Ожидать (impf.): to expect; more formal/literary, also used for anticipation rather than physically waiting.

Can I move words around? For example, Курьера я жду у входа в офис?

Yes. Russian word order is flexible and used for emphasis/topic:

• Я жду курьера у входа в офис. (neutral)
• Курьера я жду у входа в офис. (It’s the courier that I’m waiting for—contrast/emphasis on “courier.”)
• У входа в офис я жду курьера. (Emphasis on the place.) Meaning remains, but focus shifts.

Why not во офис? When do I use во instead of в?

Во is a variant used mainly to avoid awkward consonant clusters or before certain words (often starting with в or ф): во дворе, во Франции, во Владивостоке. Before a vowel like офис, plain в is normal: в офис. Во офис sounds wrong.

Any pronunciation tips for this sentence?

• Жду: the cluster жд is pronounced smoothly: [ʐdu]; stress on -у.
• У входа: in fast speech, вход often sounds like [фход] due to devoicing; overall [u fˈxodə].
• В офис: [v ˈofʲis].
• Remember ё is always stressed and pronounced “yo,” even if written as е in casual text.

How do I say “the courier” vs “a courier”? Does курьера mean one or the other?

Russian has no articles. Курьера can mean either “the courier” or “a courier.” Definiteness is inferred from context. Here, it’s naturally understood as “the courier” you’re expecting.