Breakdown of Когда почтальон долго не приходит, я сама иду к почтовому ящику и проверяю, нет ли там письма.
я
I
письмо
the letter
и
and
не
not
Questions & Answers about Когда почтальон долго не приходит, я сама иду к почтовому ящику и проверяю, нет ли там письма.
Why is it Когда почтальон долго не приходит, not не придёт?
Because this sentence describes a repeated or habitual situation, not one single future event.
- приходит is the imperfective present
- In Russian, the imperfective present can be used for things that happen regularly, typically, or in a general situation
So Когда почтальон долго не приходит... means something like:
- When the mail carrier hasn’t been coming for a long time
- When the mail carrier takes a long time to come
- When the mail carrier is late
If you said Когда почтальон долго не придёт, that would point more toward a single future occasion, and it would sound unnatural here.
What does долго не приходит literally mean?
Literally, it is something like does not come for a long time.
In Russian, долго often combines with negation like this:
- Он долго не звонил = He didn’t call for a long time
- Автобус долго не приходил = The bus didn’t come for a long time
So почтальон долго не приходит does not mean he comes slowly. It means there is a long delay before he comes, or he hasn’t shown up for quite a while.