هي تطوي الملابس.

Because Arabic can use an independent subject pronoun for emphasis, contrast, or clarity.

The verb تطوي already shows a feminine singular subject, so تطوي الملابس by itself can mean she folds the clothes. Adding هي makes the subject explicit:

• تطوي الملابس = She folds the clothes
• هي تطوي الملابس = She folds the clothes

So هي is often optional here, unless the speaker wants to stress she in particular.

Yes. By itself, تطوي can mean either:

• she folds
• you fold (addressing one male)

That is because the same imperfect form is used for both 3rd person feminine singular and 2nd person masculine singular in many verbs.

The pronoun هي removes the ambiguity here, so the sentence clearly means she folds the clothes.

In the imperfect tense, the prefix تـ can mark 3rd person feminine singular.

So:

• هي تطوي = she folds

This is part of the normal imperfect conjugation system in Arabic. The separate pronoun هي matches the verb form, so the sentence is grammatically clear.

The dictionary form is طوى, which means to fold.

So the relationship is:

• طوى = he folded / the basic dictionary form
• يطوي = he folds / is folding
• تطوي = she folds / is folding

This verb is a Form I verb and it is also a weak verb, which affects how some of its forms look.

Because طوى is a weak verb. Its last root letter is weak, and that changes how the imperfect form appears.

So instead of a more regular-looking ending, you get:

• يطوي
• تطوي

The ending ـي here is a normal result of this verb’s pattern. This is something learners see often with verbs whose roots contain و or ي.

A careful MSA pronunciation is roughly:

• hiya taṭwī al-malābis

A few notes:

• هي = hiya
• تطوي = taṭwī
• الملابس = al-malābis in normal pause pronunciation

Also, the الـ in الملابس is pronounced clearly here because م is a moon letter, not a sun letter. So it is al-malābis, not am-malābis.

الـ is the definite article, meaning the.

So:

• ملابس = clothes
• الملابس = the clothes

In context, Arabic often uses the definite article where English may or may not use the, depending on the situation. So the exact English translation may vary slightly, but grammatically الملابس is definite.

It is plural. ملابس means clothes or garments.

It is a broken plural, which means it does not form the plural by simply adding a regular ending like ـون or ـات. Instead, the internal shape of the word changes.

Learners often treat ملابس as a vocabulary item meaning clothes as a whole, which is a good practical approach.

It is the direct object, so in fully vocalized MSA it would be in the accusative case.

Fully marked, the sentence would be:

• هي تطوي الملابسَ

That final ـَ is the accusative ending. In ordinary Arabic writing, short case endings are usually not written, so you normally just see الملابس.

Yes, absolutely.

Arabic often leaves out the separate subject pronoun when the verb already makes the subject clear enough. So:

• تطوي الملابس = She folds the clothes
• هي تطوي الملابس = She folds the clothes, with a more explicit she

Both are correct. The version with هي may sound more deliberate or contrastive, depending on context.

It can mean both, depending on context.

The Arabic imperfect tense often covers meanings that English splits into:

• she folds
• she is folding
• sometimes even she does fold

So هي تطوي الملابس could describe:

• a habitual action: She folds the clothes
• an action happening now: She is folding the clothes

Context tells you which meaning is intended.

Because Arabic does not use a present-tense copula like English is in a sentence like this.

English says:

• She is folding the clothes

Arabic simply uses the verb itself:

• هي تطوي الملابس

The idea of present action is already contained in the verb form تطوي, so no separate word for is is needed.