אני סומכת עליה, כי היא תמיד אומרת לי אם יש בעיה.

I trust her, because she always tells me if there is a problem.

Breakdown of אני סומכת עליה, כי היא תמיד אומרת לי אם יש בעיה.

• אני: I
• יש: there is
• היא: she
• לי: to me

Questions & Answers about אני סומכת עליה, כי היא תמיד אומרת לי אם יש בעיה.

Why is סומכת written with a feminine ending?

Because סומכת is the feminine singular present-tense form of the verb לסמוך.

In אני סומכת עליה, the speaker is female.
If the speaker were male, it would be אני סומך עליה.

The same thing happens later in היא תמיד אומרת לי: אומרת is feminine singular because היא means she.

Why does Hebrew use סומכת על for trust?

In Hebrew, the common verb pattern for trusting someone is לסמוך על מישהו / מישהי.

So Hebrew says, literally, something closer to rely on someone or count on someone, even when the natural English translation is trust someone.

That means the preposition על is required:

• אני סומכת עליה = I trust her
• not אני סומכת אותה

This is just the normal Hebrew combination to memorize: לסמוך על.

What exactly is עליה?

עליה here means on her.

It is made from:

• על = on
• plus a pronoun ending meaning her

Hebrew very often attaches pronouns directly to prepositions: