Breakdown of Если опаздываешь, всегда извиняешься.
всегда
always
опаздывать
to be late
если
if
извиняться
to apologize
Questions & Answers about Если опаздываешь, всегда извиняешься.
Why is the pronoun ты missing from this sentence?
This is a generalized-personal clause. By dropping ты and just using the second-person singular verbs (опаздываешь, извиняешься), the sentence makes a general statement true for anyone, much like the generic 'you' in English. Adding ты would make it specifically about the person you are talking to rather than a general rule of etiquette.
Both verbs are imperfective here. Could we use perfective verbs instead?
Not in this specific context. The word всегда (always) indicates a recurring, habitual action or a general rule, so you must use the imperfective verbs опаздываешь and извиняешься. If you were talking about a one-time future instance ('If you are late tomorrow, you will apologize'), you would use the perfective forms: Если опоздаешь, извинишься.
Why does извиняешься have the reflexive -ся ending?
The non-reflexive verb извинять means 'to excuse' or 'to forgive someone else' (like when you say Извините меня for 'Excuse me'). Adding the reflexive suffix -ся literally means 'to excuse oneself,' which is how you express the act of apologizing in Russian.
Is the comma after опаздываешь strictly necessary?
Yes. In Russian, subordinate clauses (like the condition starting with Если) must always be separated from the main clause by a comma. Even though this sentence is very short and lacks a subject pronoun, the punctuation rule still strictly applies.
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