En classe, la maîtresse écrit avec une craie blanche.

En classe means in class or in the classroom. It sets the scene first, just like English can do in sentences such as In class, the teacher writes...

French often puts a place or time expression at the beginning of a sentence for context. You could also say:

La maîtresse écrit en classe avec une craie blanche.

That is still correct, but starting with En classe gives a slightly more natural setting-the-scene feel.

In French, you usually need an article before a noun, much more often than in English.

So French says:

la maîtresse = the teacher

where English might sometimes just say teacher in certain contexts.

Here, la is the feminine singular definite article, because maîtresse is a feminine singular noun.

Here, maîtresse means female teacher, especially a primary school teacher.

A few useful notes:

• maître = male teacher/master
• maîtresse = female teacher/mistress

Be careful: maîtresse can also mean mistress in other contexts, but in this sentence, because of En classe and écrit avec une craie blanche, it clearly means teacher.

Because écrit is the conjugated verb, while écrire is the infinitive.

The infinitive is the basic dictionary form:

• écrire = to write

But in a sentence, you normally need a conjugated form:

• j’écris = I write
• tu écris = you write
• il écrit / elle écrit = he writes / she writes

Since la maîtresse is she, the sentence uses:

la maîtresse écrit = the teacher writes

French accents are part of the spelling and often affect pronunciation.

• é in écrit is an acute accent. It gives a clear ay-like sound: écrit
• î in maîtresse is a circumflex accent. In modern French, it usually does not strongly change pronunciation, but it is part of the correct spelling.

So you should learn the words with their accents:

• écrire
• écrit
• maîtresse

Avec means with.

In this sentence, it introduces the tool being used:

avec une craie blanche = with a piece of white chalk

So the structure is:

subject + verb + avec + object/tool

French often uses avec just like English uses with for instruments or accompanying objects.

Because craie is a feminine noun in French.

That affects both:

1. the article
   
   • une (feminine singular), not un
2. the adjective
   
   • blanche (feminine singular), not blanc

So:

• une craie = a piece of chalk
• une craie blanche = a white piece of chalk

This is adjective agreement: the adjective must match the noun in gender and number.

Because in French, most color adjectives come after the noun.

So:

• une craie blanche = a white piece of chalk
• un livre rouge = a red book
• une table bleue = a blue table

This is different from English, where adjectives usually come before the noun.

This is the feminine form of the adjective.

The basic masculine form is:

• blanc = white

The feminine form is:

• blanche

So you get:

• un crayon blanc = a white pencil
• une craie blanche = a white piece of chalk

This change is irregular enough that it is best to memorize it as a pair:

• blanc / blanche

Yes, and that would mean something slightly different.

• avec une craie blanche suggests with a white piece of chalk
• avec de la craie blanche suggests with white chalk in a more general material sense

So both are possible, but the original sentence focuses on one piece of chalk, while de la craie blanche refers more to the substance or material.

Not always. The comma is mainly a writing choice that marks the introductory phrase clearly.

Both are possible:

• En classe, la maîtresse écrit avec une craie blanche.
• En classe la maîtresse écrit avec une craie blanche.

The version with the comma is often easier to read, especially for learners, because it clearly separates the setting from the main clause.