Я жду курьера у почты.

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Breakdown of Я жду курьера у почты.

• у: at
• ждать: to wait
• курьер: the courier

Questions & Answers about Я жду курьера у почты.

Why is it жду and not something like “am waiting”? How does the tense work here?

Russian doesn’t have a separate present continuous form like I am waiting. The simple present жду covers both:

• Я жду курьера у почты. – I wait for the courier at the post office. (general/habitual, in the right context)
• Я жду курьера у почты. – I am waiting for the courier at the post office. (right now)

Context tells you whether it’s a one‑time, ongoing action (like English am waiting) or a regular action (like English wait / usually wait).

Why is there no preposition before курьера even though English has wait for the courier?

In Russian, the verb ждать already includes the idea of for. It takes a direct object without a preposition:

• ждать кого? чего? – to wait for whom? for what?
  
  • ждать курьера – to wait for the courier
  • ждать автобуса – to wait for the bus

If you add a preposition like для here (ждать для курьера), it becomes wrong or means something completely different. So you simply say ждать + noun with no for-type preposition.

Why is it курьера and not курьер? What case is that?