La professoressa parla a bassa voce durante l’esame.

In Italian, it is very common to use the definite article with professions and roles when talking about a specific person.

So la professoressa = the teacher / the female professor.

Using professoressa without the article is possible in some contexts, but in a normal standalone sentence, la professoressa sounds natural and standard.

A few comparisons:

• La professoressa parla. = The teacher is speaking.
• Professoressa, posso entrare? = Professor/Teacher, may I come in?
  Here there is no article because you are directly addressing her.

Professoressa is the feminine form, while professore is the masculine form.

• il professore = the male teacher/professor
• la professoressa = the female teacher/professor

Since the sentence refers to a woman, Italian uses the feminine noun.

Parla is the third-person singular present tense of parlare (to speak).

The subject is la professoressa, which is she / the teacher, so the verb must match that subject:

• io parlo = I speak
• tu parli = you speak
• lui/lei parla = he/she speaks

So:

• La professoressa parla = The teacher speaks / is speaking

Italian often uses the simple present where English might use either speaks or is speaking, depending on context.

A bassa voce literally means something like in a low voice.

It is a fixed expression used to mean:

• quietly
• in a low voice
• softly

Breakdown:

• a = in / at
• bassa = low
• voce = voice

So the structure is idiomatic: a + adjective + noun.

Other similar expressions exist in Italian, so it is best to learn a bassa voce as a whole phrase.

Because bassa agrees with voce, and voce is a feminine singular noun.

• voce = feminine singular
• therefore the adjective must also be feminine singular: bassa

So:

• a bassa voce = in a low voice

If the noun were masculine, the adjective would normally be masculine too.

They are very similar, and both can mean in a low voice / quietly.

• a bassa voce is very clear and neutral
• sottovoce is also common and often slightly more compact or idiomatic

For example:

• La professoressa parla a bassa voce.
• La professoressa parla sottovoce.

Both are natural. The sentence you were given uses the fuller expression a bassa voce.

Because il becomes l’ before a singular noun beginning with a vowel.

• il libro
• il professore
• but l’esame

So:

• il + esame → l’esame

This is called elision.

Yes, nouns ending in -e can be either masculine or feminine, so you have to learn their gender individually.

In this case:

• esame is masculine
• so the article is il, which becomes l’ before the vowel

Therefore:

• l’esame = the exam

A useful thing to remember is that many nouns ending in -ma of Greek origin are masculine in Italian, including:

• il problema
• il sistema
• il tema

And also:

• l’esame

Durante means during.

It introduces the time context:

• durante l’esame = during the exam

It works like a preposition and is followed directly by a noun phrase.

Examples:

• durante la lezione = during the lesson
• durante la notte = during the night
• durante l’estate = during the summer

Yes. Italian word order is flexible, although some orders sound more neutral than others.

The original sentence:

• La professoressa parla a bassa voce durante l’esame.

This is very natural and neutral.

You could also say:

• Durante l’esame, la professoressa parla a bassa voce.

This puts more emphasis on during the exam.

You might also hear:

• La professoressa parla durante l’esame a bassa voce.

This is possible, but the original order usually sounds smoother.

It can mean either, depending on context.

Italian present tense often covers both:

• she speaks
• she is speaking

So La professoressa parla a bassa voce durante l’esame could be understood as:

• The teacher speaks in a low voice during the exam
  or
• The teacher is speaking quietly during the exam

English chooses between simple present and present progressive more often than Italian does.

The apostrophe itself is not pronounced. It just shows that a vowel has been dropped.

• l’esame is pronounced as one smooth unit, roughly leh-ZAH-meh

You do not pause between l’ and esame.

The apostrophe shows that il esame has contracted to l’esame.

It is neutral and standard.

Nothing in the sentence is especially formal or informal. It would work well in normal written Italian and everyday speech.

The only thing to note is that professoressa specifically refers to a female teacher/professor, and a bassa voce is a standard, natural expression.

Yes. That would be more explicitly like The teacher is speaking quietly during the exam.

Compare:

• La professoressa parla a bassa voce durante l’esame.
  Neutral present; can mean speaks or is speaking
• La professoressa sta parlando a bassa voce durante l’esame.
  More clearly emphasizes an action in progress right now

Both are correct, but the version with parla is simpler and very natural.