Learn Hardcore Arabic (Modern Standard): صديقتي ما زالت مريضة، ولذلك تضع منشفة باردة على وجهها. - My friend is still sick, so she puts a cold towel on her face.

صديقتي ما زالت مريضة، ولذلك تضع منشفة باردة على وجهها.sadeeqatee maa zaalat mareedah, walidhalika tadau minshafatan baaridatan alaa wajhihaa

My friend is still sick, so she puts a cold towel on her face.

Breakdown of صديقتي ما زالت مريضة، ولذلك تضع منشفة باردة على وجهها.

Questions & Answers about صديقتي ما زالت مريضة، ولذلك تضع منشفة باردة على وجهها.

Why is it صديقتي and not صديقةي?

The base word is صديقة meaning female friend. When you attach the possessive suffix -ي meaning my, the ة changes to ت before the suffix:

صديقة + ي → صديقتي

So صديقتي means my female friend.

A useful comparison:

صديقي = my male friend
صديقتي = my female friend

Why is صديقة feminine?

Because it refers to a female friend. The ending ة is a very common feminine marker in Arabic nouns and adjectives.

So:

صديق = male friend
صديقة = female friend

Since the sentence is about a woman or girl, the feminine form is used.

What does ما زالت mean here?

ما زالت means is still or continues to be.

So:

صديقتي ما زالت مريضة
= My friend is still sick

This is a very common Arabic expression. It does not mean a simple negation here; together, ما زال functions as an idiomatic expression meaning to still be / to continue to be.