Learn Hardcore Italian: L'insegnante scrive una parola nuova sulla lavagna. - The teacher writes a new word on the blackboard.

Italian articles la (feminine singular definite) and una (feminine singular indefinite) drop the final vowel when the following word begins with a vowel, to avoid a vowel clash (hiatus). You replace the dropped vowel with an apostrophe.
• la insegnante → l’ + insegnante = l’insegnante
• The same happens with una amica → un’amica

Is l’insegnante masculine or feminine?

The noun insegnante ends in -e and can be either masculine or feminine. The elided article l’ originally stands for il (masculine) or la (feminine), but you can’t tell gender from l’insegnante alone. Context usually clarifies, or you might add adjectives/pronouns:
• Il / la mia insegnante
• L’insegnante maschio / femmina (rarely used)

What tense is scrive, and how do you say “is writing”?

Scrive is the third person singular present indicative of scrivere (to write). In Italian the simple present covers both the English “writes” and “is writing.” If you want to stress that the action is in progress right now, you use the periphrastic present continuous:
• Sta scrivendo – “(He/She) is writing.”

Why is the adjective nuova placed after parola? Could you say una nuova parola instead?

Many descriptive adjectives (like nuova) typically follow the noun in Italian:
• una parola nuova
However, you can also say una nuova parola without changing the basic meaning. Putting the adjective before the noun often adds a slight stylistic emphasis or personal nuance, but both word orders are grammatically correct.

Why do we say una parola and not un parola?

Parola is a feminine noun (it ends in -a), so it takes the feminine indefinite article una. The masculine indefinite article un is used with masculine nouns (e.g. un libro, un giorno). For certain masculine nouns starting with z or s+consonant, you use uno (e.g. uno studente).

What does sulla mean in sulla lavagna, and why not su la?

Sulla is the contraction of the preposition su (on) + the definite article la (the). Italian prepositions di, a, da, in, su routinely combine with articles:
• su + la = sulla (on the)
• su + il = sul, su + i = sui, su + le = sulle, etc.

Could you say nella lavagna instead of sulla lavagna?

No. Su indicates surface/location “on” something. In would mean “inside.” Since you write on the board’s surface, you must use sulla lavagna. Saying nella lavagna (“in the board”) doesn’t make sense in this context.