Она не сказала этого прямо, а только намекнула, что встречу лучше перенести.

Because Russian often uses the genitive after a negated verb, especially with direct objects.

So:

• сказала это = said this
• не сказала этого = didn’t say this

This is a very common pattern in Russian. After negation, the object can sometimes stay in the accusative, but the genitive is often preferred, especially in more standard or natural-sounding phrasing.

Here этого is the genitive singular form of это.

So the sentence structure is:

• Она сказала это прямо = She said this directly.
• Она не сказала этого прямо = She didn’t say this directly.

Here прямо means directly, openly, or explicitly.

So не сказала этого прямо means she did not say it in a clear, direct way.

This is a very common adverb with verbs of speech:

• сказать прямо = to say directly / bluntly
• спросить прямо = to ask directly

It does not mean physical straightness here. It is about the manner of speaking.

Russian often uses не X, а Y for correction or contrast:

• not X, but Y

So here:

• не сказала прямо, а только намекнула

means:

• she didn’t say it directly; she only hinted

А is especially natural when the second part replaces or contrasts with the first.

Compare:

• не читал, а смотрел картинки = he didn’t read, but looked at the pictures
• не позвонил, а написал = he didn’t call, but wrote

Using но is not the usual choice in this exact pattern. А is the standard conjunction in не ..., а ... contrasts.

Намекнула is perfective. It presents the action as a single completed act: she gave a hint.

• намекнуть = perfective
• намекать = imperfective

In this sentence, perfective fits because the speaker is describing one finished communicative action, just like сказала is also perfective.

Compare:

• Она намекнула... = She hinted...
• Она намекала... = She was hinting / used to hint / kept hinting...

If you used намекала, it would sound more ongoing, repeated, or less bounded.

Because встречу is the accusative singular of встреча.

The verb перенести takes a direct object:

• перенести встречу = to move/reschedule the meeting

So in the clause:

• что встречу лучше перенести

the noun встречу is the thing being moved/rescheduled.

Forms:

• nominative: встреча
• accusative: встречу

This is the normal pattern for feminine nouns ending in -а.

Both are possible, but the given order is very natural.

Russian word order is flexible, and moving a word earlier can give it a bit more focus or make the sentence flow better in context.

So:

• что встречу лучше перенести
• что лучше перенести встречу

both mean essentially the same thing: that it would be better to reschedule the meeting.

The version with встречу before лучше перенести can make the meeting itself the topic of the clause: as for the meeting, it would be better to move it.

Russian often places important or already-known information earlier than English would.

Because лучше + infinitive is often used impersonally in Russian.

So лучше перенести means:

• it would be better to reschedule
• better to reschedule

The sentence does not explicitly say who should do it. That is left to context.

This is very common in Russian:

• Лучше подождать. = It’s better to wait.
• Лучше уйти сейчас. = It’s better to leave now.

If needed, Russian can name the person:

• Нам лучше перенести встречу. = We’d better reschedule the meeting.
• Тебе лучше уйти. = You’d better leave.

But here the speaker keeps it general.

Here лучше does not simply mean better in a literal comparative sense like This book is better. It works as a modal expression:

• лучше + infinitive = it would be better to...

So:

• встречу лучше перенести = it would be better to reschedule the meeting

This is a very common and useful Russian structure.

Related patterns:

• лучше сделать это сейчас = it’s better to do it now
• лучше не спорить = it’s better not to argue

A stronger or more personal-sounding version is:

• лучше бы перенести встречу = it would be better to reschedule the meeting / we really ought to reschedule the meeting

But in your sentence, plain лучше перенести is neutral and natural.

Перенести literally means to move/transfer something to another time or place.

With events such as встреча, урок, заседание, it usually means:

• reschedule
• move
• sometimes postpone, depending on context

So:

• перенести встречу = to move/reschedule the meeting

It does not always mean specifically moving it later, although in many real situations that is what happens. If Russian wants to emphasize postponing to a later time, context usually makes that clear.

There are two commas for two different reasons.

1. Before а

• Она не сказала этого прямо, а только намекнула...

This comma separates two coordinated clauses linked by а.

2. Before что

• ...намекнула, что встречу лучше перенести

This comma introduces a subordinate clause after что:

• намекнула, что... = hinted that...

So the punctuation reflects the clause structure of the sentence.

Yes, that version is also possible:

• Она этого прямо не сказала, а только намекнула...

The basic meaning stays the same. The difference is mainly word order and emphasis.

Compare:

• Она не сказала этого прямо...
  More neutral: she didn’t say this directly.

• Она этого прямо не сказала...
  Slightly more focus on этого: this, she didn’t say directly.

Russian word order often shifts emphasis rather than core meaning. English is much less flexible here, but Russian allows several natural variants.

Yes, both patterns exist, but they are used a little differently.

1. намекнуть на + noun

This is used when the hint points at something:

• намекнуть на проблему = to hint at a problem
• намекнуть на его ошибку = to hint at his mistake

2. намекнуть, что + clause

This is used when the hint contains a whole idea or proposition:

• намекнуть, что пора уходить = to hint that it’s time to leave
• намекнуть, что встречу лучше перенести = to hint that it would be better to reschedule the meeting

So что is completely natural here because what follows is a full clause, not just a noun phrase.

Because the subject is она, so the past tense verbs agree with a feminine singular subject.

In Russian past tense:

• masculine: сказал, намекнул
• feminine: сказала, намекнула
• neuter: сказало, намекнуло
• plural: сказали, намекнули

So:

• Она сказала
• Она намекнула

This is one of the first things English speakers notice, since English past tense verbs do not change for gender.