Learn Italian: Maria non è mica seccata perché siamo in ritardo? - Maria isn't annoyed because we are late, is she?

Using non and mica together in a question expresses doubt or asks for reassurance. While Maria non è seccata? simply asks if she is annoyed, adding mica makes it closer to 'Maria isn't annoyed, is she?' or 'Maria isn't annoyed by any chance?'. It signals that you are hoping the answer is no.

Could I place mica at the end of the sentence instead?

No, the placement of mica is strict in this structure. When used with non to emphasize a verb, mica must directly follow the conjugated verb (è). Moving it to the end of the clause would make the sentence incorrect.

Why does seccata end in -a?

Seccata is the past participle of the verb seccare (to annoy or bother) functioning here as an adjective. Because it describes a woman (Maria), it must agree with her in gender and number, taking the feminine singular ending -a.

Why do we say siamo in ritardo instead of using a single adjective for 'late'?

In Italian, the concept of a person being late is almost always expressed with the prepositional phrase essere in ritardo (literally 'to be in lateness'). You cannot directly translate the English adjective 'late' with a single Italian adjective in this context.