Не стоит медлить с ответом, если начальница ждёт письмо сегодня.

Не стоит медлить is a common Russian way to give mild advice or a recommendation.

Literally, не стоит means something like it’s not worth..., but in natural English it often comes out as:

• you shouldn’t...
• it’s better not to...
• there’s no point in...

So Не стоит медлить means You shouldn’t delay / It’s best not to delay.

This structure is impersonal: there is no explicit you in Russian, even though English usually supplies one.

Медлить means to delay, to hesitate, or to be slow about doing something.

It is a fairly neutral, somewhat formal verb. In this sentence, it suggests delaying the act of replying.

Compare:

• медлить — to delay, to hesitate
• тянуть / тянуть с ответом — to drag things out, more colloquial
• задерживать ответ — to delay the reply, more direct/object-focused

So Не стоит медлить с ответом is a natural way to say You shouldn’t delay your reply.

Because Russian often uses the pattern медлить с чем-то, meaning to delay with something.

So:

• медлить с ответом = to delay with the reply / to delay replying

Here с requires the instrumental case, which is why ответ becomes ответом.

A learner can think of this as a fixed pattern:

• медлить с решением — to delay with a decision
• медлить с оплатой — to delay payment
• медлить с ответом — to delay replying

English and Russian structure this differently. English often prefers a verb like reply directly, while Russian often uses медлить с + noun in instrumental.

It is instrumental because it follows the preposition с in the meaning used here.

In this sentence:

• с ответом = with the reply / over the reply

Forms:

• nominative: ответ
• instrumental: ответом

So the case is not random; it is required by the construction медлить с чем?

Yes. Начальница is the feminine form, meaning female boss / female superior.

• начальник — male boss, or sometimes a general word for boss
• начальница — specifically female boss

Since the sentence uses ждёт, the subject is singular, and начальница tells you the boss is a woman.

Some learners notice that job titles in Russian can behave differently from English. Russian often marks the person’s gender more explicitly.

Good question. The verb ждать can be followed by either accusative or genitive, depending on usage and nuance.

Here you see:

• ждёт письмо

The noun письмо is neuter inanimate, and its accusative singular looks exactly like its nominative singular:

• nominative: письмо
• accusative: письмо

So in this sentence, письмо is most naturally understood as accusative.

You may also encounter ждать письма. That genitive form is also possible in Russian, though usage depends on style, register, and nuance. For many learners, the safest takeaway is:

• ждать кого? что? often uses the accusative
• with some nouns and contexts, genitive is also possible

In this sentence, ждёт письмо is perfectly normal.

Because Russian present tense can describe a current expectation or ongoing situation.

Here, начальница ждёт письмо сегодня means that right now, the boss is expecting the letter to arrive today.

So the idea is not really future in the sense of she will start expecting it later. It is present in the sense of:

• she is waiting for it
• she expects it today

That is why ждёт works well.

If you used будет ждать, it would usually shift the meaning toward will be waiting, which is not what this sentence needs.

Если is the standard word for if in ordinary conditional sentences.

So:

• если начальница ждёт письмо сегодня = if the boss is expecting the letter today

This is the most straightforward choice. There is nothing unusual here grammatically.

The sentence is:

Не стоит медлить с ответом, если начальница ждёт письмо сегодня.

This word order is natural and clear. Russian word order is flexible, but changing it changes emphasis more than basic meaning.

For example:

• Если начальница ждёт письмо сегодня, не стоит медлить с ответом.

This version is also natural. It puts the condition first and the advice second.

The original sentence starts with the advice, so it sounds a bit more direct: Don’t delay, if the boss is expecting the letter today.

Yes. Сегодня is flexible.

You could say:

• ...если начальница ждёт письмо сегодня
• ...если начальница сегодня ждёт письмо

Both are possible.

A rough difference in emphasis:

• ждёт письмо сегодня — emphasis falls a bit more naturally on today as the time when the letter is expected
• сегодня ждёт письмо — emphasizes today earlier in the clause

The original version is completely normal.

Yes, but the tone changes slightly.

Compare:

• Не стоит медлить — mild, polite advice: It’s best not to delay
• Не надо медлить — stronger, more direct: Don’t delay
• Нельзя медлить — very strong: One must not delay / It’s unacceptable to delay

So не стоит is a good choice if the speaker wants to sound measured rather than harsh.