Breakdown of Если часы отстают, ты можешь опоздать на встречу.
ты
you (singular)
на
on, at / by (transport) / to (a place) / to (in answer to)
встреча
meeting
часы
watch / clock
Questions & Answers about Если часы отстают, ты можешь опоздать на встречу.
Why is отстают in the plural form when the English translation says "the watch"?
In Russian, часы means both "clock" and "watch" (as well as "hours"), and it is always a plural noun. Because of this, any verb or adjective describing it must also be plural. That's why we use the plural form отстают.
What is the literal meaning of the verb отстают here?
The verb отставать literally means "to fall behind" or "to lag". When talking about timepieces, it's the standard Russian way to say that a clock or watch is "running slow". (If a watch runs fast, you would use спешить, which literally means "to hurry").
Why is the word for meeting (встреча) written as встречу in this sentence?
The verb опоздать (to be late) pairs with the preposition на plus the Accusative case to show what you are late for. Since встреча is a feminine noun ending in -а, it changes to встречу in the Accusative case.
Why do we use the perfective verb опоздать instead of its imperfective pair опаздывать?
The sentence describes a potential one-time result ("you might be late for this specific meeting"). Because the focus is on a single completed action and its result, we use the perfective form опоздать.