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В поликлинике я жду в очереди и читаю журнал.

В поликлинике я жду в очереди и читаю журнал.
At the clinic, I am waiting in line and reading a magazine.

Breakdown of В поликлинике я жду в очереди и читаю журнал.

я
I
читать
to read
в
in
и
and
ждать
to wait
журнал
the magazine
поликлиника
the clinic
в
at/in
очередь
the turn
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Questions & Answers about В поликлинике я жду в очереди и читаю журнал.

Why is it в поликлинике and not в поликлинику?

Because в поликлинике is prepositional case and answers where? (location): in/at the clinic.
В поликлинику would be accusative and answers where to? (motion/destination): to the clinic.

What exactly does поликлиника mean, and is it different from больница?

Поликлиника is typically an outpatient clinic (appointments, general practitioners, specialists, tests—usually no overnight stay).
Больница is a hospital, where people can be admitted and stay.

Why does it say я жду в очереди and not я стою в очереди?

Both are possible but emphasize different things:

  • я жду в очереди = I’m waiting in the line/queue (focus on waiting).
  • я стою в очереди = I’m standing in line (focus on physically standing).
    In many real situations people wait while also standing, so жду is very natural.
Does ждать need an object? It looks like жду is “missing” something.

Ждать often takes a direct object (ждать врача = wait for the doctor), but the object can be omitted when it’s obvious from context.
Here, я жду в очереди implies I’m waiting (to be seen / for my turn).

Why is it в очереди (prepositional) instead of something like очередь in another case?

The fixed pattern for “in a line/queue” is в очереди = literally in the queue (location/state).
You also commonly see:

  • встать/стать в очередь (accusative в очередь) = to get in line (movement into the line)
  • быть/стоять/ждать в очереди (prepositional в очереди) = to be/stand/wait in line (already there)
What case is журнал, and why?

Журнал is accusative singular (direct object of читать): to read a magazine.
For inanimate masculine nouns like журнал, nominative and accusative forms look the same: журнал.

Could this mean “I’m reading the magazine” (a specific one) or “a magazine” (any magazine)?

Yes—without articles, Russian can be ambiguous:

  • читаю журнал can mean reading a magazine (indefinite) or reading the magazine (definite).
    Context decides. If you want to emphasize “this/that magazine,” you can add этот/тот: читаю этот журнал.
Why are both verbs in the same tense: жду and читаю?

They’re coordinated actions with и (and). Russian typically keeps them in the same tense/aspect when they happen at the same time:
я жду ... и читаю ... = I’m waiting ... and (at the same time) reading ...

Does Russian have a separate “present continuous” like English I am waiting / I am reading?

No. Russian generally uses the present tense of the imperfective for both:

  • I wait and I am waiting → я жду
  • I read and I am reading → я читаю
    The “right” English translation depends on context.
What is the aspect here—why жду and читаю (imperfective)?

Both are imperfective and describe an ongoing process: waiting and reading as activities in progress.
A perfective form would suggest completion (e.g., “I waited and finished”), which doesn’t fit this “currently in progress” situation.

Is the word order fixed? Could I say Я в поликлинике жду в очереди и читаю журнал?

Word order is fairly flexible. Your variant is grammatical. Differences are mainly about focus:

  • В поликлинике я... puts the setting first (At the clinic, I...).
  • Я в поликлинике... foregrounds I first (I, at the clinic, ...).
    The original sounds very natural as a scene-setting sentence.
Why is there no word like сейчас (“now”)? Is it implied?

Yes. Russian often leaves now/currently implied when the context is clearly “what I’m doing (at the moment).”
If you want to make it explicit, you can say: Сейчас в поликлинике я жду... or Я сейчас жду...