Learn Hardcore Italian: L'insegnante è assente.

Italian drops the vowel of the definite article il (masc. sg.) or la (fem. sg.) before a noun that starts with a vowel. So il insegnante or la insegnante both become l’insegnante. The elision itself doesn’t show gender—you’d need context or an adjective to know if the teacher is male or female.

Is insegnante masculine or feminine?

insegnante is a common‐gender noun: it looks the same for masculine and feminine. You mark gender with the article or an adjective:
• l’insegnante bravo = the (male) teacher
• l’insegnante brava = the (female) teacher
For an indefinite feminine form you’d say un’insegnante.

Why is assente placed after è, and can I use it directly after the noun?

Here assente is a predicate adjective, so it needs the verb essere (è) to link the subject and adjective—“The teacher is absent.”
If you drop the verb, you can still say l’insegnante assente, but that’s a noun phrase (“the absent teacher”), not a complete sentence expressing state.

How does assente change for gender and number?

assente follows normal adjective endings:
• Singular (m/f): assente
• Plural (m/f): assenti
Examples:
• La studentessa è assente.
• Gli studenti sono assenti.

What does assente exactly mean? Are there synonyms?

assente means “absent,” “not present.” Common alternatives:
• non presente (not present)
• non c’è (colloquial: “is not here”)
• mancante (more formal/literary)

Can I use the verb mancare instead of essere here?

You can say L’insegnante manca (“the teacher is missing”), but in a classroom context Italians prefer L’insegnante è assente or the colloquial L’insegnante non c’è. Note that ci manca means “we miss him/her,” not “he/she is absent.”

How do you pronounce insegnante and assente?

• insegnante: [in-seˈɲan-te] (“gn” = palatal nasal [ɲ], like Spanish ñ)
• assente: [a-ˈsɛn-te] (stress on the second syllable)

How would you say “The teachers are absent”?

Pluralize article, noun and adjective:
• Masculine: Gli insegnanti sono assenti.
• Feminine: Le insegnanti sono assenti.