המורה מסבירה לי בסבלנות כשאני לא מבין.

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Breakdown of המורה מסבירה לי בסבלנות כשאני לא מבין.

• לי: to me
• לא: not
• להבין: to understand

Questions & Answers about המורה מסבירה לי בסבלנות כשאני לא מבין.

Why is המורה translated as the teacher, and what does the ה־ mean?

The prefix ה־ is the Hebrew definite article, meaning the.

So:

• מורה = a teacher / teacher
• המורה = the teacher

Hebrew attaches the directly to the noun instead of writing it as a separate word.

Does המורה itself tell me whether the teacher is male or female?

Not by itself, at least not clearly in this sentence.

The word מורה can refer to either a male teacher or a female teacher. What tells you the teacher is female here is the verb:

• מסבירה = explains (feminine singular)
• מסביר = explains (masculine singular)

So המורה מסבירה means the teacher is female.

Why is the verb מסבירה and not מסביר?

Because the subject, the teacher, is understood here as feminine.

In Hebrew present tense, verbs agree with the subject in gender and number. So:

• הוא מסביר = he explains
• היא מסבירה = she explains

Since the sentence uses מסבירה, it matches a feminine singular subject.