Я ждала подругу полчаса у входа, а потом сама зашла в кафе.

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Breakdown of Я ждала подругу полчаса у входа, а потом сама зашла в кафе.

• в: to
• у: at
• вход: the entrance

Questions & Answers about Я ждала подругу полчаса у входа, а потом сама зашла в кафе.

Why is it ждала and not ждал?

Because the speaker is female.

In the Russian past tense, singular verbs agree with the subject in gender:

• ждал = a man was waiting
• ждала = a woman was waiting
• ждало = it was waiting
• ждали = they were waiting

So Я ждала tells you that the person speaking is a woman.

Why is it подругу and not подруга?

Because подруга is the direct object of ждала, so it goes into the accusative case.

• nominative: подруга = female friend
• accusative: подругу

With verbs like ждать (to wait for), Russian uses a direct object:

• Я ждала подругу = I was waiting for my female friend

This is different from English, where for is required. In Russian, ждать usually takes the object directly.

Why does Russian use подруга here? Does it specifically mean a female friend?

Yes. Подруга means a female friend.

Compare:

• друг = male friend
• подруга = female friend

So Я ждала подругу specifically means the speaker was waiting for a woman friend, not just any friend of unspecified gender.

Why is it ? What case is that?