Fiscina et qualum pura sunt.

They are both nominative singular. They are the two subjects of sunt.

• fiscina = nominative singular
• qualum = nominative singular

Even though each noun is singular by itself, together they make a compound subject: fiscina et qualum = the basket and the ...

Because there are two subjects, joined by et.

• fiscina = one thing
• qualum = another thing
• fiscina et qualum = two things together

So Latin uses the third-person plural verb: sunt = are.

This is just like English: The basket and the tray are clean, not is clean.

Sunt is the present indicative active, third-person plural, of esse, meaning to be.

So here it simply means are.

This sentence is a basic linking-verb sentence:

• subject(s): fiscina et qualum
• linking verb: sunt
• predicate adjective: pura

Here pura is nominative neuter plural.

That may seem strange at first, because pura can also be a feminine singular form in other contexts. But in this sentence, the grammar shows it is neuter plural:

• it goes with a plural idea: fiscina et qualum
• it is linked with sunt, not est
• it describes things, not just one feminine noun

So here pura means clean in the neuter plural.

Because the adjective describes both nouns together.

The two nouns have different genders:

• fiscina is feminine
• qualum is neuter

When Latin has a compound subject with different genders, and the things are inanimate objects, the predicate adjective is commonly put in the neuter plural. That is why we get pura.

So Latin is not saying:

• the basket is clean
• the tray is clean

with separate agreement for each one.

Instead, it is saying:

• the basket and the tray are clean

as a single combined idea.

If you wanted to make the agreement separate and explicit, Latin could say something like fiscina pura et qualum purum sunt.

There is no separate word for the or a because Latin has no articles.

So fiscina can mean:

• a basket
• the basket
• sometimes just basket

The context tells you which is most natural in English.

That is very normal in Latin. You should not expect a word corresponding exactly to English the or a/an.

Et means and.

Here it simply joins the two nouns:

• fiscina et qualum = the basket and the tray

It is coordinating two subjects, which is why the verb becomes plural: sunt.

Not as much as in English. Latin word order is fairly flexible because the endings already show the grammatical relationships.

So the basic meaning would stay the same in other orders, such as:

• Qualum et fiscina pura sunt
• Pura sunt fiscina et qualum

The given order is a normal straightforward order, but it is not the only possible one.

• fiscina is a first-declension feminine noun
• qualum is a second-declension neuter noun

That matters because their declensions help explain their endings:

• fiscina has a typical first-declension nominative singular ending -a
• qualum has a typical second-declension neuter nominative singular ending -um

Knowing the declension also helps you predict other forms later, such as genitive, dative, and plural forms.